T
aryn and Ethan sat at the conference table in the open area of the CSA offices. It had been odd to walk into the reception area and not see Jessie sitting at her desk. Taryn wasn’t sure what exactly had gone down for her to up and quit. Jessie wasn’t being very forthcoming over the phone or email either. They’d exchanged a few phone calls this past week and they’d set next Friday night aside to meet for drinks. It looked like that wasn’t going to happen now and Taryn knew she’d have to send her friend a text to let her know that she was heading out of town.
Speaking of friends, Taryn shot a look around the table at her fellow team members—Connor, Jax, Kevin, and Ethan. Lach McKinnon was the only agent absent, which was understandable since he’d just been involved with a hostage crisis. He’d come out relatively unscathed if you discounted the major hematoma on his chest that he’d received from a bullet to a class III soft vest he’d been wearing. Although they might give each other shit at times, each of the boys meant the world to her.
She eyed Fallon Canna who was sitting next to Crest on the opposite side of the table. Taryn could see why Ethan would go for a woman like her. She was tall, thin, with long blonde hair and classic beautiful features. She was very elegant, yet Taryn now understood why Fallon would want nothing to do with Ethan’s particular fetishes—she obviously had a corncob stuck very far up her ass. The profiler certainly wouldn’t fit into the crowd at Masters. She’d probably spend her time analyzing why people liked that particularly deviant lifestyle.
“The way you’re smiling one would never know your life had just been put on display,” Jax murmured as he leaned slightly her way. He’d sat in the chair to her left and was tossing his yellow stress ball up into the air. “Something else going on?”
“I’m distracting myself from the huge pile of shit my life has turned into by picturing Fallon at the club,” Taryn whispered truthfully, leaning back in her chair so that she wouldn’t be heard across the long table. Jax laughed softly, but she heard a strangled sound coming from her right. She looked over to see Ethan coughing up the coffee that he’d just drank. He shot her a dirty look and she was amused to think that he thought their friends didn’t know that he and Fallon had done the dirty. “What?”
Ethan placed his elbow against the arm of his chair, making a come hither motion with his finger. Taryn moved slightly so that she could hear what he wanted to say, although she already knew that he wanted to strangle her. When his hazel eyes softened, reality landed in her lap and reminded her why they were here. Ethan had given his SITREP a few moments ago, and once everyone had caught Fallon up on the case they were all waiting for her opinion—on Taryn’s life and Ryland’s connection to her. She hadn’t chose this and her anger mounted once more.
“The team supports you, Squid,” Ethan replied softly, calling her by the nickname the crew had given her due to the fact that she was the only one out of them that had a Navy background. “We’ll head out tomorrow once I’ve had a chance to get some sleep.”
“Let me reiterate this in bullet points so I know that I’ve covered everything,” Fallon said, pulling everyone’s attention her way. She used a pen to tap on the paper in her hand. “Ryland initially came on the scene sometime in the late nineties. Crest had one run in with him
before
he was allegedly hired by the NSA to eliminate Jax Christensen’s wife. That encounter was in Iraq during the initial phase of the war, when Ryland successfully assassinated a Marine Lieutenant Colonel. Flash forward years later to Emily Christensen, who barely survived the contract that had been placed on her. During the time CSA attempted to protect Emily it came to light that Ryland had a connection to a woman by the name of Yvette Capre. Trevor Neonni, a rival assassin, purportedly murdered her for unknown reasons. Do I have that much correct so far?”
“Yes,” Crest replied, rubbing his chin as he rested against the back of his chair. He glanced Taryn’s way and she knew that he was worried about her, but there really wasn’t any reassurance to give him. Ryland had seen to it that she didn’t know who she was anymore. It was an old story they’d learned from Sun Tsu—destroy your enemy’s morale and he is defeated before the first blow. “That’s the shortened version, but only half the story.”
“I’ll continue,” Fallon said, making a slight note. Taryn made a fist to prevent herself from asking what the woman had written down. Regardless that Crest had brought a profiler in, Fallon Canna didn’t have the right to be privy to the personal details of Taryn’s life. She sucked it up, knowing that once she left this office today it would be in search of the answers she needed, not only for herself but also for the overall health of the team. “After Ryland was captured and placed into a federal prison, he escaped within days only to taunt Taryn with flowers and messages with regards to her resemblance to Yvette. At the beginning of this year it was concluded that Yvette and Taryn are very closely related. All of you think that Ryland is aware of this. Through some inquiries over the last week it’s been discovered that Taryn’s father is that connection. From my understanding, Ryland has not made any attempt to eliminate anyone associated with CSA since this has come to light, for some unfathomable reason.”
She felt the tension in the air as Connor, Jax, Kevin, and Ethan stared at Fallon as if they expected her to say something against Taryn’s involuntary involvement with an assassin. She couldn’t stand pity, and the longer they sat here at this table the more pent up anger seemed to consume her. It was all she felt lately, with the exception of when Ethan came over to watch comedies and eat popcorn with her. He’d been her anchor throughout this calamity, and although she’d originally put up a fight that he was going to Texas without her, she was glad that he went and had been able to forewarn her of the emotional train wreck that awaited her.
“Talk about convoluted,” Kevin muttered, shaking his head and shifting his large frame in the chair to get comfortable.
“That would be a correct assumption,” Connor replied to Fallon, speaking for the group as a whole, “but I don’t care for the way your last sentence was worded. Ryland will come after us. We are not by any means a paranoid group. The bullet points you stated are just that—bullet points.”
“I didn’t suggest—”
“This man, and I use that term lightly,” Jax interjected, squeezing the yellow stress ball in the palm of his right hand until his knuckles turned white, “is methodical. He has no feeling of humanity because he is a stereotypical psychopath. He kills for money and takes pleasure in the material items that he’s possessed. That was clear to see with the clothes he wears to the weapons he utilizes. There is a European quality to him, but I would bank that he is as American as the rest of us in this room. I truly don’t care what you call him, whether it be a sociopath, psychotic, or mentally ill, but Ryland needs to be erased from all our lives.”
“The only way to eradicate this assassin from your lives is to actually find him.” Fallon stood up and walked over to where Kevin’s whiteboard had been pulled out for her use. She picked up a black Expo and connected some words that she’d already written down previously. “One, it is plain to see that Ryland has no empathy when it comes to taking a human life. He’s had over forty kills that the Bureau can somehow and in some way link back to him. Two, from what I’ve seen, taking the contract to eliminate Emily was just another assignment to him. I do not think it was in any way connected to Taryn or CSA.”
“Why do you say that?” Crest asked, twisting his chair slightly so that he could look directly at the board. He motioned toward the written information. “Everything, and I mean everything leads back to Taryn in some way. The one person we connected to Ryland is somehow related to Taryn. The first person he contacts after escaping from federal prison is Taryn.”
“Do I know for sure that my assumptions are correct?” Fallon asked, snapping the cap back on the Expo as she looked pointedly at Crest. “No. Profiling isn’t black and white. I can give my suppositions and maybe lead you down the right path. I don’t believe Ryland knew from the start that Taryn was employed by CSA. I imagine it was a coincidence. Do I think sending Taryn and Ethan back to Texas is a good idea? Yes, I do. I think that action will bait Ryland out from hiding, so be prepared.”
“The sooner I figure out how my father is related to Yvette Capre, the faster I can get back to my life,” Taryn said, standing up. She couldn’t handle sitting anymore, going over and over the same information that she’d been looking at for what seemed like years. “Even if this connection between me and Ryland was a fluke, it’s something that has to be dealt with.”
“You’re absolutely right.” Fallon gestured toward the whiteboard. “What I can tell you that I hope eases your worries is that I don’t feel Ryland wants you dead. If anything, after having reviewed the footage of the train station where you arrested him, you’ve caught his interest. There was a tender look on his face that couldn’t be mistaken.”
“I call bullshit,” Ethan said, using the arms of the chair to push himself up. He stood side by side with Taryn. He placed a warm hand on her back and she felt his support. “Ryland has no soul, and the first opportunity he has he’ll shitcan anyone who had anything to do with his arrest.”
“I’m not here to argue with you.” Fallon threw the Expo onto the table and then addressed Ethan’s comment. She had a way of diffusing any dispute that someone partook and continue talking as if they hadn’t interrupted. Taryn could respect that, regardless that this wasn’t a topic that she wanted to have. “I’m giving you my opinion. The card that Ryland sent to Taryn wasn’t written in anger or resentment. It was as if he wanted to reach out to support Taryn in what she would find if she opened up the skeleton closet of her family. There is still a diminutive part of this man that cares for someone other than himself and that stems from Yvette Capre. If you find the connection, chances are you’ll find what carries Ryland through life. You term it as his weakness, but I think it could be his salvation.”
Crest stood when the squad became restless and everyone started speaking at once. He raised a hand to call order, but Taryn wasn’t in the mood to hear any more of what Fallon Canna had to say. Salvation? Taryn swiped up her coffee mug and let the other men deal with the profiler’s opinion. Taryn sure as hell knew Jax didn’t agree with that statement. In all honesty, if Ryland were standing in this room she wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. Did that make her a bad person? Maybe, but then she’d be able to drop this scrutiny of her father’s life. The only reason she continued to dig in the dirt was because they all knew Ryland would forever have a target on their heads. To remove it, they must figure out this loose end to bring him to his knees. That wasn’t salvation.
“You okay?” Ethan asked, shutting her office door behind them and closing out the lively conversation that was still taking place in the common area. Taryn could see he was running on fumes and that he needed to go home and get some rest. His hazel eyes were bloodshot, there was no dimple to be seen, and his brown hair, which always contained a slight curl on the ends, seemed a little lifeless. She felt somewhat guilty, knowing he was doing this for her. “Fallon certainly views things a bit differently. I think her time would have been better spent profiling Yvette.”
“What the hell did you see in Fallon anyway?” Taryn asked, walking around the two tables that she used for a desk. She was looking forward to when her new Ergonomic office furniture arrived, especially after the consultation she’d had with a representative the other day. Her back could only take so much hunching. Her sympathy for Ethan went by the wayside as her frustration mounted. She shoved her mouse across the pad a little harder than was needed to in order to wake up her monitor. She had several of them along with various computers, hardware, and phones to do her job efficiently. Right now she just wanted to leave it all behind and uncover the truth about her family. She was kidding herself by saying that if Ryland were dead she could go about her life. The only way to do that was to figure out the relationship between her father and Yvette Capre. “Take my keys. Go and catch some zzzs at my place. The way you look you’d never make it to Minnetonka.”
“Trust me, I’m still questioning my initial judgment when it comes to Fallon.” Ethan caught the set of keys but he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave. Taryn needed to be alone to sort out the information that he’d uncovered in Houston. She sat down in her Ergonomic chair, which had already been delivered and she picked up one of the pencils she always had on hand, immediately chewing on the metal end. It was a bad habit and one that she needed to break, but it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. “Give me a call when you’re ready to leave the office and then we’ll head over to my parents’ for dinner. I’ll then swing by my house to pack another bag and then we’ll crash at your apartment. Leave at zero six hundred, after your run?”
“I don’t have to—”
“
After
your run,” Ethan reiterated, giving her a raised eyebrow. “If you think I’m driving to Houston with your agitated ass because you didn’t get to expel that pent up energy, think again. Not happening two days in a row.”
“Fine.” Taryn flipped her pencil onto the desk and went about turning on the rest of her monitors. She would spend the morning going over her software programs to ensure that Ryland didn’t trigger any alarms by trying to sneak into the country. Her software wasn’t fullproof, but it was better than anything they had up to this point. Maybe Ethan was right, and the reason she was so restless today was because she didn’t get her run in. “You’re running with me though.”
A rap sounded on the door and Ethan closed his eyes in exhaustion. Taryn felt his pain, but she also knew that in order for her to leave, she had things that needed taken care of. Gradually he moved aside so that he could let in whoever was on the other side.
“Ethan, Fallon would like a word with you,” Crest said as he entered Taryn’s office. “After that, go home and get some sleep. You look like refried shit.”