Page 17

CHAPTER 17

S ephie woke to the hiss and sputtering of the coffeemaker. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and glanced over her shoulder. The bed behind her was empty.

Only hours ago, when she’d woken to use the bathroom, Taschen’s warm body had been wrapped around hers in a tight bear hug. If it hadn’t been for the urgent press of her bladder, she wouldn’t have moved.

As quickly as possible, she’d gotten right back beneath the covers, where his sinewy arm cloaked her in protection for the rest of the night. She hadn’t thought to ask him to sleep in her bed. After the sex and intimacy they’d shared over the last couple of days, she’d hoped sleeping together would be a given. Thank god he hadn’t hesitated.

Rolling to a sitting position, she placed her feet on the cool hardwood and stretched. The bedroom door was partially ajar. Kevin must have gotten up after Taschen. She made her way to the kitchen in her underwear and tank top.

Taschen stood at the island holding a frying pan and a spatula. The scent of cooked butter and sweet batter filled the air.

His chest was bare, and a pair of light-gray joggers hung low on his hips. His hair was disheveled, as though he’d run his hands through it a dozen times, but his eyes were bright and alert. “Morning,” he said with a grin, as he dropped two large pancakes onto a plate. A plate filled with three sat next to it.

“Morning. It smells delicious.”

“There’s bacon on the table.” He passed her one of the plates. “Help yourself.”

Her tastebuds tingled as she selected a strip of bacon from the steaming plate, then another. “How’d you sleep?” she asked, sitting.

He sat next to her and placed a jar of maple syrup on the table. A lopsided grin tilted his lips. “Slept good. Woke up with blue balls.”

She snorted as she poured the amber liquid onto the fluffy confection. “I don’t see how that’s possible after our dip in the hot tub.”

He chomped on a piece of bacon. “Honey, I could make love to you all night and wake up still wanting more.”

She stuffed a forkful of pancake into her mouth to stop the little gasp that wanted to come out. Heat crawled up her neck. He watched her with intensity. Perhaps waiting for her reaction ?

Make love .

Was that what they were doing? Making love? It sure seemed like it. Her womb still tingled from going farther with this man that she’d ever gone. Making love without a condom had shown her how much more incredible sex could be—something she didn’t want to trade for anything.

Which was a problem. She couldn’t continue having unprotected sex or she’d end up pregnant. She’d have to think of a solution, but not over breakfast. Not with everything so damn precarious. “Did you make your phone calls last night?”

He grunted and took another bite. “I did. The guys are working on getting the security footage from Yvette’s hotel.”

Her mouth popped open, her food hovering inches from her lips. “You can do that?” she whispered.

“ I’m not doing it. But yeah, Backcountry’s equipped with extensive software. A few of the guys are really good at tracking people.”

“So if you get a picture of the person who went into her room, how will you find them?”

“Facial recognition.”

“Holy crap.” She finally brought the fork to her mouth and almost groaned as the sweet flavors burst on her tongue. “Do you work for the government?”

He laughed, his shoulders gently shaking. “Not even close. ”

“Well.” She shrugged. “I guess I’m glad I hired you guys.”

His smile softened, and appreciation flashed in his eyes. “So am I.” Sincerity clung to every carefully spoken syllable.

Her belly tightened. Kevin whined and pawed at her leg. “Oh, hi buddy.” She scrubbed the top of his head between his ears. “I didn’t even greet you yet.” She broke off a piece of bacon as an apology for neglecting him.

Kevin greedily scarfed down the salty meat, his huge black eyes wide with excitement. At least she was forgiven.

Taschen snickered. “Dude’s got it all figured out. He already had a bowl of food with bacon crumbles.”

“Shit.” Sephie curled her lip. “He played me.”

Taschen laughed. “Guess we’d better get on the same team or he’s gonna pack on ten pounds.”

She smiled and rested her head on her fist, her elbow on the table as she glanced around the cozy cabin. She could really get used to this quiet life with Taschen and Kevin. So easy. So stress free. And with someone who felt like a real partner. Someone who wanted to do things just because. Who made Kevin his responsibility even though he wasn’t his dog.

Who took care of her. Cooked for her. Made life happier even in the darkest of times.

She turned her gaze to the clock on the wall. It was 8:42 a.m. “What time are we heading into the city?”

He took a sip of his coffee and looked at the clock as well. “I’d like to leave by ten if that works for you. Who knows what time we’ll hear from Jack, but I don’t want to miss him.”

“Okay. What if he doesn’t call until the afternoon? Where will we go?”

“I was thinking we’d just hang at my place, if that’s okay with you. I should probably check on the house. Plus, Kevin will have some space to run around there.”

His house. For some reason, she’d come to think of the cabin as his. Taschen gave off lone-wolf vibes and seemed so at home in the woods. “And Kevin? Should we take him to meet Jack?”

Taschen’s gaze flicked away, and he creased his brow. An uneasy sensation filled her stomach.

“What is it?” she asked.

Slowly, his gaze returned to hers. It was filled with regret. Anxiety climbed up her esophagus. “Taschen,” she nearly snarled. She couldn’t take his silence another second. Something was wrong, or—

“I need to see Jack by myself.”

Her eyes bulged. “Excuse me?”

“I know we planned for both of us to meet him. But—Hell, Sephie. It’s just not worth the risk. We don’t know what he’s involved with.”

She shook her head. His betrayal made her eyes burn with disbelief. She pushed away from the table and got to her feet. “That’s bullshit,” she spat, turning toward the hall.

Wooden chair legs scraped across the floor as he stood. His long, thick fingers circled her bicep. “Sephie.” Not an ounce of strife or frustration filled his tone. And damn him, that made it much less easy to be pissed.

He turned her around to face him, his hands wrapping around her waist. She crossed her arms over her chest, preventing them from touching too much.

He stared down at her, his eyes two buckets of pleading remorse. “I don’t want to lose you.” The flat, honest words took her out at the knees.

All the anger left her body. She inhaled a long, deep breath. How quickly he’d turned her hurricane into a gentle, pattering rain. “I feel like you lied.”

He shook his head firmly. “No. Our original plan was for you to come. But last night I realized the risk we’d be taking. I just can’t do it. I asked a couple of the guys to hang with you at my house.”

She cocked back her head. “Seriously? And you didn’t think to discuss this with me?”

He gave her a sly grin. “You were sleeping, and we’re discussing it now.”

She pursed her lips. “I think it’s a dumb idea.”

“Oh yeah?” He hooked his eyebrow, but amusement tugged at his mouth. “How’s that? ”

“Because Jack knows me. He’s not going to open up to a complete stranger. If I’m there, I think he might.”

A vein in Taschen’s temple pulsed. He knew she was right.

“And,” she continued, lowering her arms to move in for the kill. “I’m safer with you.”

His jaw tightened. “Sephie—”

“We can do this together. I understand you want to keep me safe. But this can’t go on forever, and if we blow this meeting with Jack, the whole thing was for nothing.”

He averted his gaze. She wrapped her arms around him and locked her hands at his back. “Doesn’t my say matter?”

He dropped his head back to stare at the ceiling. She suspected that if he could’ve burned a hole through the drywall, he would’ve. Inch by inch, he tilted his face back down to meet hers. “You know it does.”

She smiled. “Good. Let’s clean up. Don’t want to be late.”

***

Taschen locked his hand around the top of the steering wheel as he drove toward Seattle. Kevin sat on Sephie’s lap, his nasally breaths competed with the song on the radio.

All last night he’d been dreading telling Sephie he didn’t want her to meet Jack with him. He’d made arrangements and peace with the idea, but she’d blown it to hell with her tear-filled green eyes.

Sonofabitch.

She was right about one thing—there was a much better chance Jack would talk with her there. Taschen hated going into things blind, and today he was definitely doing that.

He’d have to let the guys know there’d been a change of plans. As if Brick had read his thoughts, the phone rang over the speaker, cutting off Aerosmith.

“Mind if I get this?” he asked Sephie.

“Go ahead.”

He punched the green button. “Hey, man. What’s up?”

“Just got to the office. I’ve got some intel on the shit we talked about last night.”

“Good. Sephie’s here with me. We’re just driving into the city.” There wasn’t anything he didn’t want Sephie to hear, but he thought Brick should be aware of her presence, in case he wanted to talk about anything pertaining to Pippa and Yvette.

“Hi, Sephie.”

“Morning. You two go ahead. Pretend I’m not here.”

Brick chuckled. “All right. Well, dude, we didn’t get IDs on the shooters from the funeral. But got a make and model of the vehicle they fled in.”

Taschen grunted. “That won’t do much.” Probably wouldn’t even hold up in court with a half-decent lawyer.

“No, but we made out better with the hotel cameras. Two guys. They tried to be slick and hide their faces, but one guy dropped his phone in the hall, which made him pivot in just the right direction.”

“No shit. You get an ID on him already?”

“Yeah. Arnold Webb.”

“Assassin?” Not that they’d be able to figure that out for sure, but if Brick had already dug into Webb’s work history, there might be telling signs.

“Not specifically. But he’s worked for Raymond Schaffer as a personal bodyguard off and on for the last ten years.”

Energy crackled in the vehicle. Taschen jerked his gaze to Sephie, taking in her pale face and rounded eyes. Of course Raymond Schaffer was behind this. That wasn’t shocking. Still, the confirmation of it had probably rocked Sephie. “Looks like we’ve got damning evidence Raymond was involved in Yvette’s murder.”

“Yeah. And the guy also had some kind of contusion on his head, which aligns with Sephie’s attack the other night. The cops never found the guy, right?”

“That’s right,” Taschen said. Well hell, they’d found out a lot in a short time.

Sephie leaned forward in her seat. “I don’t get it,” she blurted. “Raymond was pissed at me. I’m the one who went live and blasted him. Why’d he go after Yvette? She did nothing but try to protect me.” Anger vibrated Sephie’s words.

Goddammit.

He covered her hand with his, keeping his eyes on the road. “That’s what we need to find out,” he said, to both Brick and Sephie. “Yvette’s house was broken into the previous day. They wanted her, and I think it has to do with whatever proof Yvette had against Raymond.”

Sephie’s soft sniffling pulled at his heart.

“Jack’s gotta know something,” Taschen continued.

“Right,” Brick said. “Which leads me to what I found out about him.”

Sephie’s hand turned cold in his. He brought her fingers to rest on his leg, his hand still on top. “Go on.” Trepidation climbed inside him.

“The guy’s record is clean.”

“Which doesn’t mean shit.”

“No, but hang on. I think he’s on your side. Ghost hacked into his email account, and it looks like Jack was exchanging encrypted emails with Yvette for four years.”

Ghost was an unofficial employee of Backcountry. The guy was exactly what his name implied. He’d never divulged his given or surname or, hell, much of anything about himself. Taschen didn’t want to speculate about the guy’s background, but it couldn’t be good .

Ghost had shown up when the team needed him, though, and that was what mattered.

“That’s interesting,” Taschen said. “Anything in the emails that hints at what the hell they were planning?”

“Not yet. I’m still going through them. Looks like they met for coffee a lot. Almost weekly since they started their communication.”

“That’s a lot of correspondence.”

“Agreed. I’ll continue going through these emails and call you if I find anything else.”

“Thanks,” Taschen said. “One more thing.”

“What’s that?”

“I think we should have backup meeting this guy. I dunno. I’ve got a weird feeling. I figured we’d be fine at a public place, but we’re going to be an open target.”

A long pause dragged out. “I thought Rami and I were staying back with Sephie.”

“She’s coming,” Taschen blurted.

Brick muttered something under his breath. “You think that’s smart?”

“It’s how we’ve gotta do it. Can you and Rami still help?”

He sighed, probably biting back whatever else was on his mind for Sephie’s sake. “Yeah, ’course.”

“Good. I’ll let you know when I hear from Jack.” Taschen punched the end button and glanced at Sephie. “You okay? ”

She pulled her hand away from his to dash away the tears on her cheeks. “I just—I don’t get it. Four years ?” Her words trembled. “Yvette never said anything to me. I talked to her often. Never, not once, did she say she still spoke to Jack. Why hide it?”

The possibility that Yvette hadn’t been on the straight and narrow crossed his mind and filled his gut with a sickening sensation. He didn’t breathe the suspicion to Sephie. The truth would come out. She didn’t need him tarnishing the memories of one of her best friends. Yvette’s motives seemed pure. After all, she was the one who’d hired him.

He cleared his throat. “Maybe she didn’t want to bring up the past with you. Tried to protect you from those memories and the more heinous things she suspected were going on.”

Sephie glanced down at the top of Kevin’s head and gave a slow nod. “That’s possible. Yvette always looked out for my best interests. But I can’t help feeling betrayed.” She let out a shuddering breath. “Maybe that’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid. She kept something huge from you. When all is said and done, we might understand why. Regardless, you have a right to feel exactly how you feel.”

She turned her hand so they were palm to palm. “Thank you.”

Before Taschen could respond, Kevin got up, stretched, then spun in a circle and whined. Taschen sighed. “Looks like Kevin has to pee.”