Wyn Security Page 47

  A steady diet of bullshit was the only thing saving him.

  He would help Hannah get what she needed—what she thought she needed anyway—so she could move on. Protecting people via his tech had become his life. And he probably owed her a small favor. You know, payment for making him feel for a while like everything might be okay.

  He stepped into the lobby and put his sunglasses on. Being made wasn’t an option. Redburn’s hired help had just retrieved the envelope from the front desk gal, who was keeping a wary eye on them. In her shoes, he’d pray they weren’t really guests. He followed in his fresh blue polo, a camel belt that matched his loafers, and dark jeans that fit better than his normal choice. George Huntington was the preppy sort, and Eddie wasn’t about to break character, but his black bag slung around his shoulder was nonnegotiable. He hadn’t holstered a gun to his ankle, but there was one at the ready in his bag. Always.

  “Hey.” Hannah sidled up to him and kept in step to the sidewalk.

  “Good timing.” He turned left just as the two bulky henchmen did.

  The shorter man of the two reached into his jeans and a set of keys reflected the sun in his hand. Shit. He and Hannah needed their own set of wheels, if these guys were headed straight back to Redburn this time, that would be the jackpot. He refused to let this lead go.

  Eddie stilled as the two paused on their respective sides of a white SUV; they weren’t as dumb as they looked. They wore sunglasses, but he’d bet his lunch they were checking for a tail. He wrapped his arms around Hannah and pulled her in so that their faces were covered and pressed his lips to hers. He didn’t actually want to be kissing her soft lips, but counter-surveillance measures couldn’t be helped, and kissing was always a great one. In this moment though, he would soak her in, breathe in her sweet scent, and feel her relax against him, knowing full well she didn’t mean it. He palmed the side of her face closest to the white SUV and coaxed her mouth open with his tongue, tasting her. He walked her backward until she hit the car. She was letting him have control, and it was hot as hell. Too bad the sole reason for pushing her against a car was to steal it.

  He slid his hands around her hips and reached down, bypassing her ass and instead trying the door handle. The latch caught and the door opened.

  He nipped at her bottom lip, and a groan escaped between his teeth.

  “Get in.” Blood rushed to his crotch when her breasts pressed again his chest as she turned. “We need to follow them.” He hurried her into the passenger side and ran around to the driver’s side door.

  “Do you know how to hot-wire a car?” she asked.

  “My misspent youth wasn’t just about computers.” He winked as he grabbed at the wires underneath the steering wheel and went to work.

  “Your file really left out a lot of details about your life.” She crossed her arms.

  “I experimented here and there with changing details in files. And court records.”

  “Eddie.” She shook her head.

  “That’s why you recruited me, isn’t it?” he spit out as he pulled out the wiring, grabbed a knife from his pocket, and cut. “You’d have to know exactly what you were looking for in certain districts to find the real information. Are you keeping an eye on the SUV?”

  She was silent, and he sparked the last two wires together to start the car. Like riding a bike.

  “You did it for Leo, too, didn’t you?”

  He ignored Hannah and pulled into the street just as the goons drove by.

  “Eddie. You can’t just do that. It didn’t help him. Obviously.”

  “Put on your sibling hat for a second. I know you understand. I let him down when I left. I’m not going to let him twist in the wind now.” He put on his blinker and turned right to follow the SUV, which was driving the exact speed limit for the downtown streets.

  “I understand.”

  “Hear anything about that footage?” He had Leo to think about. There were so many things taking his attention that it was hard to focus on one, even for a master multitasker like him. He knew Leo wasn’t a killer.

  “Not yet.” She shifted in the small seat, digging through her purse, and put on sunglasses. “Where do you think they are taking the money? Redburn?”

  “I don’t think he would take that chance. The last people around it blew up.”

  “Do you think he knows it’s the chip and a double cross?”

  “You have the chips with you, right?”

  She padded her purse.

  “Good. I want to check them out.”

  God, what if his diagnostics kit wasn’t up to par? He’d not seen this type of advanced technology before. And the platform that would take to run it? Forget about it. This was the slickest device he’d ever run across. It had been hidden inside a twenty-dollar bill, after all. And somehow had the ability to create a big explosion. This was a game changer, and the people who got their paws on it would succeed in their goals. Think of how many people bought a cup of coffee or a hot dog on the street with cash. You could slip your target the bill and track him, eavesdrop on him, and blow him to smithereens. At the least.

  They followed the SUV to another part of Ballard and a warehouse that could be the twin of the one that was now only half standing. Why one person needed all of these warehouses, Eddie didn’t know.

  He parked up the block and tilted his rearview mirror to keep an eye on the front door. Hannah rolled down her window and pushed on the side of her rearview mirror for eyes. The SUV was the only one parked in front. He tapped the tips of his fingers on his thigh. They needed ears. There was no point in sitting here if they didn’t know what was going on.

  “What did you get from Redburn today?”

  He kept his eyes on the mirror at the top of the windshield. “Nothing. I suspect he has another phone for business because the number he called me on this morning was different from the one we’d tagged.” He rifled in his black bag, looking for the pouch with the bugs he always kept on him.

  He quietly opened his door.

  “What are you doing?” Hannah asked in a hushed tone. “Are you crazy?”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  There wasn’t a sound when he closed the door. He ran with light steps until he was on the far side of the building, which backed up to a deserted alley. There was a door in the middle, but that was too risky. If the building was one big open room, he’d be spotted, and he didn’t want to have to use the gun tucked away on his calf just yet.

  Maybe he could use the old windows with thick caulking that opened from the middle. The first set only offered a view of empty boxes. Moving to the next window, he peeked inside to see if he could spot the men. No go on that one, either. He quickly moved past the door, making himself flat against the wall. Bingo! The men were behind window number three. The warehouse wasn’t as big as it looked from the outside. He planted his bug in the corner of the window, giving it an unhindered line of sight for the best results. It was going to be spotty due to the distance as it was.

  Eddie made it back to the stolen car, closing the door just as quietly as he had when he left.

  Hannah’s wide eyes tracked his every move.

  “I just went ahead and waved to them so they know we are watching.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Shut up. I was worried for my case.”

  “You keep telling yourself that.” He took out his laptop, the diagnostic kit, and the cords he’d stashed in there. “Where’s the tech?”

  “Do you ever slow down?”

  “Do you?” He turned the bug on and cranked it up to full volume. Anything was better than them flying solo.

  The men were talking about a club they’d been to the previous evening and the Latina women they’d danced with all night.

  He hooked up the diagnostic plate to his processor and adjusted the computer on his lap to fit the plate next to him in the cup holder. “Wanna play a game?” He opened the program he’d written to break down the parts to tech and dig into the spe
cific programs so he could see what Mrs. H’s chip was really capable of doing and started the process—still crossing his fingers his code was sophisticated enough for what Lilia Huntington had developed.

  Hannah propped her elbow up on the door, slid her left foot onto the seat, and faced him.

  “The ladies at the club was poppin’.” A younger male was saying proudly. “You shoulda come out, man.”

  “I had my own party to get to.” This male voice didn’t sound impressed.

  “Truth for a truth?” Eddie shouldn’t, but what else were they going to do? She’d obviously had his number and used it to her advantage. It wouldn’t be so bad to repay the favor.

  “What are you, ten?” Her eyes betrayed her sarcasm.

  “Nope. If we have to listen to this, let’s have some fun with it.”

  “You’re checking out cutting-edge tech, and you’re bored.”

  “I like to keep busy.”

  “How long have I known you? There’s always a party you got to get to.” The young one was feisty.

  “I’ll start.” Hannah tugged at her earlobe. “What age were you when you first hacked a government system?”

  “Ten.” Stats started to come back on the program running the small device Mrs. Huntington had built; the software was not as advanced as he’d hoped it would be. The tech to get the disk that small and functional might be the most interesting part. Sans the explosion component—that might be a question better answered by Brewster or the FBI bomb squad.

  “Have you ever shot someone before?”

  “No.” Her face fell. Damn. She obviously wanted to. Not exactly knowledge that made him feel comfortable about her end game.

  “Have you?” Her thumbs intertwined, and she watched her hands instead of him.

  “I have. You know that. It’s not easy, even if you feel justified by having orders or protecting people. The act, the memory, takes a toll.” He lifted her chin with his thumb and index finger, trying to be gentle but owning her focus. “I’m not eager to do it again, but you better believe I will in a heartbeat if it will save someone I care about.”

  If it came down to her or him shooting Redburn, he’d pray every time he took the shot. He’d dealt with the burden and could do it again. Hannah on the other hand ... he wasn’t so certain that a shot taken out of vengeance would ultimately sit well with her. It might be what finally put her over the edge to never getting her former self back. When life changes were slowly locking you up inside, making you less of the person you wanted to be, it was time to break free. He’d seen it with his Wyn teammate, Felix Ibarra; the man who’d become increasingly grumpy and all about work was back to his better self when his wife came back. While Felix still wasn’t warm and fuzzy, there was a light in his eyes now.

  Even someone as screwed up as Hannah deserved that. Maybe especially Hannah.

  “... the girl dancing up on me all night. She wasn’t wearing underwear.” A guy with a Jersey accent piped up and was trying his hardest to impress his buddies.

  “What color are your panties?” A sly smile tugged at Eddie’s lips. It was definitely time to up the ante on their conversation. And if they talked about her panties and then her lips and then her soft skin, maybe he’d stop daydreaming and could focus on duplicating the tech from the Huntingtons. Then his mind would be free to have an epiphany about how to get his brother out of the system and far away from a murder charge.

  Chapter Eleven

  Hannah was in a stolen car talking about her underwear with a man who had a computer on his lap and had been trying to rattle her all day. Yeah, this was definitely not what she’d pictured when she’d dreamed about taking Redburn down. That had been way more glamorous. And bloody.

  “This is your question?” She had to stall a bit. He really didn’t deserve to know the color of her panties.

  She fought the urge to bite into her bottom lip. Who was she kidding? She wanted him in them right now. Eddie stirred her to act recklessly, like a teenager. She hadn’t experienced that even when she was a teen.

  “The only parameter in this game is honesty.” Right. Because he thought she was flying straight with him now. If he asked her anything point blank about his brother, was she going to lie? Eddie deserved the truth. Her mind knew it, her body knew it, but her vengeance didn’t care. Her vengeance was a bitch.

  “Royal blue,” she said instead of all the words she really should say. “Matching set.” She winked because, dammit, selfish was all she knew how to be right now. Keeping Eddie’s mind occupied with other things, things that might lead to the pleasure she increasingly needed too, was a win-win for both of them.

  The nincompoops in the warehouse were still talking about their epic night that sounded like something out of her nightmares. Redburn wasn’t anywhere around, and Eddie’s program was still running the Huntingtons’ dangerous tech.

  “What’s your best pickup line?” Her mouth dried at the leading questions she wasn’t used to asking in her personal life. And this line of questioning was very personal; she didn’t know how else to bring the genuinely flirty Eddie back. He hadn’t been shy about his passion though, when he had the chance.

  He eyed the rearview mirror, then her. His vibrant green eyes searched hers, running down the line of her neck. Heat flushed her system; every part of her was on alert. “I don’t have one.”

  His innocent, boyish looks were hard to deny. He could be telling her the sky was red and it was raining Sour Patch Kids, and she’d not question the sincerity on his lips.

  “Oh, come on, surely you try something. How do you meet women?” She tilted her head just a bit, a flutter in her belly.

  “I work a lot.” His lips pressed together, and his eyebrows rose. “Sound familiar?”

  She raised her brows at him. What a load of crap.

  “There are no lines, merely conversation,” he relented, bracing his palm on his thigh. “But if I had to say something to be noticed,”—Good Lord, how did he manage to look so sexy with his attention split between the windshield and a boring computer screen?—“I’d say ... your smile lit up my path to you and no woman as beautiful as you should drink alone.”

  “How do you know I’d be drinking alone?”

  “I have a better question: What line would actually work on you?” Eddie asked.

  “I’m not that simple.”

  “You’re telling me no line instantly turns you on.” His chuckle made his eyes dance. She had yet to hear one line that did it for her, but the way he looked at her was certainly stirring her deeply to the core.

  She nodded, a flare of passion making it a little harder to breathe.

  “Why don’t you contract out your technical expertise to companies?”

  “That wouldn’t make me happy. Sitting at a desk all day, telling people what is wrong and then having to fix it. Where’s the fun in that?”

  “You’d rather put your life at risk on a daily basis for people you don’t know?”

  “It’s all I know. My team is amazing, I get to do what I love, and I help people. No one should live in fear.”

  “Admirable.”

  “It’s selfish. Winter started the businesses and asked me to sign on. I didn’t have anything else going, and I like having my pick of the tech I want to use and build, and protecting people is a natural fit.”

  “Is there anything else you wish you were doing?” she asked.

  “Right now, yeah.” His gaze dropped to her lips, then slowly back up to meet her stare.

  The air thickened around them. A sway more than a cognizant movement brought her toward him.

  “You might not have a pickup line, but you sure have eyes that can win a gal over.”

  “Only when I’m looking at a beautiful special agent who is relentless.”

  “Finally, someone who thinks that’s a good trait.”

  “Always.” He moved the laptop to the backseat that had seen better days and gently placed the pad with the disk next to it, the g
reen bars and white words on the black screen loading and blinking respectively.

  His arm reached out, and she inhaled sharply. She had no idea what to expect from him, and that was exactly what turned her on. So much.

  The tips of his warm fingers touched the base of her neck and trailed down, moving beneath the white of her collared button-down, exposing her collarbone. His focus followed his hands.

  She took it all in, his sharp cheekbones, strong jawline, and thin lips that parted the heavier his chest rose and fell. She couldn’t take her gaze from his face, but had to because the rest of him was just as exquisite—the lean muscles that corded his arms, a small sliver of his abs showing, and his powerful legs. And his brain was just as sexy as his outer shell, rich and calculating. And focused on her. Only her. Nothing else. Exhilaration prickled at her skin, and deep in her belly, she burned for him. For his attention. For his focus. For the pleasure she wanted from him.

  She cupped his cheek, her fingers sliding into the short hair behind his ears.

  He wrapped his arms around her, bracing her ass, and pulled her over into the seat with him. She straddled him as best she could in the little car, wanting their bodies as close as possible. His groan rumbled between them as his palms rubbed up her thighs.

  “This isn’t going to work.”

  Why not?

  “Backseat.” He hooked his arm around her, opened the car door, and had them in the backseat before she could say anything. He moved his equipment to her seat, then captured her lips again, with such need that spikes of anticipation shot all the way down to her toes. He nestled between her legs, and she arched her hips upward, pressing against his erection. Her fingertips moved slowly up his chest; then she dug them in on the way back down as their kisses grew harder, needful. He pulled back for a moment, ridding himself of his shirt in one pull, and she started to undo the buttons on her shirt.