Locked and Loaded Read online

  With one long stroke he pushed into her. Her body clung to him inside and out. He cradled her back, trying to ease the pressure on her as he slid in deeper. His body begged to perform a steady rhythm, but she needed a calmer meeting.

  Slow and steady he pressed in and pulled out until the pressure built and she tightened around him. When he touched his finger against her, her head flew back and her body trembled in his arms.

  Her pleasure touched off his. In the heated sheets, with sweat beading on his forehead and his muscles shaking from the force of his orgasm, he let go. His body clenched and unleashed.

  The darkness enveloped them as they moved and moaned. Satisfaction came hard and fast, leaving them both out of breath. When he rolled off her he held her hand, afraid to break the contact.

  His other arm draped over his eyes. “Wow.”

  She kissed the back of his hand then rested their joined palms back on her breast. “I’m happy I ignored protocol and never made that call.”

  He smiled in the darkness. “Me, too.”

  “I figured now might be a good time to tell you something.”

  Here it was. He readied his mind for the blow to come. He suspected the truth about the drugs, but hearing her admit the truth after all those other lies would cost him something. “Go ahead.”

  She dragged their hands up her body until the back of his touched her cheek. “I met with Rod a few months ago. It’s possible I was the last one to see him before he disappeared.”

  Chapter Ten

  John Tate fiddled with the penholder at the edge of Trevor’s desk. “You didn’t tell me you planned to meet with Luke.”

  “I did not realize I was answerable to you.” Trevor walked to the floor-to-ceiling window behind his desk. He didn’t sit down, didn’t offer John a chair.

  “Well, you are.”

  As far as Trevor was concerned, the era of John dropping by was over. This would be their last six-o’clock meeting before the office buzzed with life.

  “I think we need to have a discussion about our arrangement.” And if John failed to back down, Trevor would shove him down.

  “It’s simple. You made plans to have your wife murdered, I found out and now I own you.”

  The comment used to cut through Trevor, reminding him of a single moment of stunning intellectual lapse. One point in time that haunted him and tainted every move thereafter.

  But as John repeated the refrain, the sting lessened. Trevor knew the release of the tape would guarantee his ruin and likely cost him his son. He also realized following the lead of the idiot in front of him could do the same.

  “What do you think this information buys you?” Trevor asked.

  “Cooperation.”

  That had not been the case so far, so Trevor marveled that John could think it would be true now. “And?”

  “Whatever else I decide I need.”

  “You are playing a dangerous game.”

  John lifted a gold pen from Trevor’s collection and put it in his pocket. “And I’m winning.”

  “How did we decide that exactly?”

  “I found the one piece of information you couldn’t.”

  But John conveniently ignored the demons nipping at his heels. Trevor knew John had turned from legitimate government employment to a murder conspiracy for a reason.

  Trevor vowed to find it.

  “Go ahead. I am listening.”

  “The location of Recovery headquarters. I know what’s in the building, the equipment they have, even the security codes to get in.”

  It took all Trevor’s energy and willpower not to show a reaction. “You are a government talking head. How did you gain access to those particulars?”

  “I have friends.” John turned the photo on the edge of the desk and stared at it.

  “I somehow doubt that.” The thought of John interacting with his son, even through a picture, made Trevor homicidal.

  The killing rage bubbled up inside him to the point of overflowing. He was ten seconds away from making another irreversible mistake.

  “I do wonder that if I can get information on my own and if I have my own men at my disposal, why do I need you?”

  Something clicked inside Trevor. The pieces fell together in his mind until he wondered how he’d missed the obvious before. “You have a partner.”

  John froze. “What?”

  “Someone on the inside of Recovery, though I cannot imagine Luke failing to ferret out a mole.” Trevor ran through the team roster in his head. “Possibly Zach. That spooky quiet could hide something deeper. The others, no.”

  But it all made sense. John might act as if he ran the operation but he was just a player. He probably did not possess one sip more power than Russell Ambrose had.

  It never fit that John would have access to men who would kill for him. He wielded a great deal of power, but it was legitimate power with oversight and political restraints. He rose through the government system and caught the attention of the right people in the party. But he was a suit, not a visionary or even a leader.

  John placed the photo back on the desk facedown. “I told you I knew people.”

  “I could never see you interviewing the criminal element, lowering yourself to meet with the type of people who get paid to perform dirty jobs and who work without the restraints of loyalty.”

  “My resources are endless.”

  Trevor still had to unravel the biggest secret. That would take time unless John slipped up. “I would say your partner is not one of the Recovery team. Not an active member. Probably someone tangential.”

  John waved him off. “You don’t need to worry about who you work for. You just need to do what we tell you.”

  Now that Trevor knew he was dealing with someone other than John, the man’s significance decreased to zero. Trevor needed the name. The real leader.

  He tried out a theory. Rolled it around in his brain to see if it passed the logic test. “Maybe Rod changed sides, got tired of playing by the rules and earning a pittance of a salary.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You two were whining over dinner one evening and hatched a grand scheme to collect money and get rid of the evidence?”

  John’s smirk disappeared. “We’re not talking about—”

  Power poured through Trevor. He felt the old confidence return, fueling his every thought and move.

  Now he had a direction.

  “I assume that’s what happened. You got tired of seeing your friend’s success and wealth and decided to get your share the easiest way possible.” Trevor could not hide his amusement and did not try. “Why work when you can steal, right, John?”

  “That’s enough.”

  Trevor pulled out his chair and sank into it. “I want to meet your partner. I need to know exactly who I am dealing with before we go one step further.”

  “That’s never going to happen.”

  And now he knew he was right.

  John had slipped and provided the one nugget Trevor had not found on his own: confirmation. Once Rod, or whoever really ran the show while letting John think he did, understood the stakes and the liability John presented, John would be gone. Until then, Trevor would tolerate John Tate. Use him.

  Trevor cleared his throat to cover his smug satisfaction. “Then you tell me what you think is going to happen.”

  “The assignment has not changed. You will destroy Recovery. Take them all out, including their women.”

  “That is very chivalrous of you.”

  John started to move around. His hands and feet were in constant motion. “I know the role Mia played in your brother’s death. I’d think that would give you sufficient reason to take her out. And Avery helped bring down Russell. They are just as much of a problem as the men.”

  Trevor decided to play along. It would not hurt to let John think he was about to get his way. Might even bring this scenario one step closer to the real power center, whether that was Rod or one of the Re
covery team.

  “Ah, I see. This is your brilliant gas-leak idea.”

  “You have two days.”

  That amounted to the one threat too many. Trevor now had a timeline—not for the battle John wanted, but for one much bigger. “Or?”

  “I will follow my partner’s advice and remove you from the equation.”

  There was no question about it now. John was not in charge. He likely held as little power as Russell had. Since no one had come calling after Russell’s funeral, Trevor realized the man had not been essential to the operation except for his handler contacts.

  “Do you understand where you are or the firepower I have at my disposal right at this minute? What I could do to you if I chose?” Trevor asked the questions in a soft voice despite his fury.

  “My tape trumps your gunmen.”

  The man had obviously never been shot. Trevor was thrilled he would be the one to correct that oversight. “We may not agree on that point.”

  “You’ve been warned. Two days then I visit your ex-wife’s attorney.”

  Instead of fighting off a new round of panic, Trevor started the mental countdown to John’s destruction.

  Chapter Eleven

  Adam lectured her during the entire drive from D.C. to western Maryland. When they finally pulled into the long dirt driveway leading to Rod’s farm, Maddie was relieved she’d soon have the opportunity to get out of the confined space.

  Adam kept up the constant stream of talk even as he disarmed Rod’s alarm and opened the gated entrance to the property. When he parked, she almost shot out of the car. Anything to escape the drone of Adam’s voice as he made his disappointment clear. In twelve hours he’d managed to turn from sexy bed partner to this.

  She slammed the door to the truck Adam borrowed from somewhere, she didn’t know where and didn’t bother to ask, and jumped down to the gravel.

  He followed her.

  “Are you done?” She looked past the parallel lines of tall bending trees to the two-story stone house at the back of the property.

  “What?”

  “Yelling.”

  “I’m trying to have a discussion.”

  “With yourself, apparently, because you don’t seem interested in my side.”

  He slapped an open hand against the truck, staring at the paint instead of her. “We were together for three days.”

  “More than—” She stopped when his head flew up and he pinned her with a look of green-eyed fury.

  “At no point did you think it would be a good idea to mention your recent contacts with Rod?”

  “Not recent.”

  “Maddie.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “I’m wondering why.”

  It all came down to trust, but it was hard to explain that to a man who’d spent the entire night before making love to her and the past two hours going out of his way to wipe the good memories from her mind.

  “We didn’t exactly start out on a share-and-share-alike basis, Adam.”

  “Maybe when we were in West Virginia and that first night on the run, but surely after that.”

  “Rod was once my handler. I never expected him to walk back into my life.” She knew they stood on acres of private land, but she glanced around and lowered her voice just in case. “We didn’t discuss my case or anything personal. I served him dinner at the diner and he left.”

  “You didn’t think it was a little odd that the guy who’d watched over you in Florida turned up living just a few miles away from your address in West Virginia?”

  “Not then.”

  “When, Maddie?”

  “When I sat in that warehouse and listened to you guys tell me about the women in the WitSec program who were murdered for cash and about your missing boss.” The cool air rushed through her hair, chilling her skin through her borrowed long-sleeve shirt.

  “That was still two days ago.”

  “I guess it slipped my mind to unload every last detail of my usually boring life, what with being chased and shot at and all.”

  Adam’s shoulders fell as if all the steam had rushed out of him, leaving the nice Adam behind. “I see.”

  She couldn’t believe that was all he had to say. “What?”

  He pushed away from the truck and walked toward her. His black T-shirt stretched across his chest. Tall, with muscles everywhere she looked, he overwhelmed her. His massive body shut out the bright sunshine, and even the birds stayed quiet while he stalked toward her.

  “Fine.” The word sat out there, delivered through a half smile with a dimple that mesmerized her.

  Seeing him close stole her breath. Not out of fear. Out of the knowledge of what he could do with that mouth and those hands. Because of the solid man he turned out to be behind those thin wire-framed glasses.

  “I still don’t know what you’re saying.” The comment sounded breathy even to her ears.

  He drew two fingers down a strand of hair to where it curled at the end. “Exactly what I said. We’re fine.”

  She shot him her best you’ve-lost-your-mind look, which was tough, since all she wanted to do was drag him back to headquarters and the bed waiting upstairs.

  No one except Zach knew they were gone. It was possible that by now he had filled in the team about the unplanned trip and was on the way to provide backup.

  “Good,” she said, because she didn’t know what else to say.

  When he didn’t respond except to put his hand on the small of her back and guide her down the path toward the house, she realized it was that easy for him. He blew his cool, stated his case and then moved on. The anger didn’t fester until it exploded in violence. He would never raise a hand to her or cause her pain.

  Well, not physically. But he had the ultimate power to destroy her in other ways. She’d given him that by letting him become important.

  For a woman who’d spent years avoiding any attachment that could be ripped away from her, it was a terrifying step. As scary as waking up in a hospital to men in suits and a tube down her throat.

  “I’m assuming you’ve searched Rod’s house before,” she said.

  “Yep.” Adam’s watchful gaze never stopped moving. He looked from side to side with his weapon drawn.

  There were a million places for someone to hide. A shed near the front of the property, thick trees and the sides of the house she couldn’t see. Then there was the entire area to her right, which was flush with vegetation so thick she couldn’t tell what lingered on the other side. The left gave way to an orchard of shorter trees just starting to fill in. Anyone could be inside the grove.

  The entire detour to this part of Maryland struck her as dangerous. Even if Zach was manning the surveillance of the place and watching them from miles away, he couldn’t get to them in time.

  The sudden side trip here intrigued her. “So, why the big rush to get me here?”

  “You know your past and the way WitSec operates. You might see something in the house we missed. A clue that could explain where Rod is since nothing else has.”

  “I doubt it.”

  “We might not know it’s important without you pointing it out.”

  She stopped on the bottom step of the front porch. “I get it.”

  Adam stopped, too. “Care to fill me in?”

  “You think Rod arranged for me to be moved closer to him.”

  Adam accompanied his quick glance to the side with a whispered profanity. “Are you always so quick to pick up on stuff?”

  “Next time kidnap a dumb chick.”

  He nodded, smiling as he did. “Yeah, it’s possible.”

  “But Rod didn’t have access to my file.”

  “He clearly did or I wouldn’t have the information I have. It wasn’t complete, but it was enough to start tracking you. My whole goal was to get to you before the person who paid for your information could.”

  “But the idea of Rod shifting my life around from outside WitSec? I don’t know how he’d have access or a
say.” With all the secrecy surrounding witness protection, the option didn’t strike her as realistic.

  “I have no idea. It’s not as if I understand Rod or his choices lately. All I can tell you is that the man I knew before the walls closed in and he took off had a plan for everything.” Adam ushered her up the steps and then turned around to survey the acres of land they’d just covered by car and foot.

  He clicked a button on his watch. With one last look, he seemed to focus on something on the lawn that she couldn’t detect. Finally satisfied, he stepped up to the front door and flipped down the small panel to the left.

  A hand scanner. She stared at it and then at Adam. “Are you kidding?”

  “It’s some of my finest work.” He actually sounded offended as he said it.

  “Is anywhere safe for you guys without all the bells and whistles of technology?”

  “I think I’ve mentioned our preference to be prepared.” He fit his hand against the blue panel. The door clicked a second later.

  “What did you do a second ago with your watch?”

  “I reactivated the sensors. Someone steps in the wrong place around here, I’ll know.” He walked her inside. “Computer geek.”

  “Insurance.” He breathed the word against her hair.

  “Don’t be offended. I think you’re a very sexy computer geek.”

  “Nice.”

  The smell hit her first. She expected a musty, closed-up assault on her senses akin to the mothball scent of her grandmother’s attic. But she sniffed and picked up notes of pine and bleach.

  “Did someone just clean the place?”

  “We did. We ripped it apart, moved stuff around, generally made a mess and then tried to clean up in case Rod did come back.” Adam typed a series of numbers into the pad on the inside of the door.

  The truth smacked her. “You don’t think he will.”

  “We should start downstairs.”

  “Adam, answer me.”

  His shoulders, so broad and proud, slumped. “No. Not anymore. Rod would be with us if he wanted to and if he were able.”

  Her heart ached for Adam, for the look of defeat around the corner of his mouth and the pain she heard in his voice. At least she knew what she was giving up when she made her choice. She’d walked away.