Live By The Team (Team Fear Book 1) (25 page)

“
She has a point,” Rose offered.

Lauren squeezed water from the dishcloth before draping it over the rim of the sink. “I often do.”

“
Probably better to stick together when you’re out of the house. Two-man teams.” Craft glanced up from the laptop screen. Then he winked. “I’ll keep an eye on the women.”

Debi settled a hand on her hip. “Well, this woman has some business to handle if we’re hiding out here until this blows over.”

“
You’re not going alone.” Rose stepped closer to Debi.

“
I can go with you,” Lauren offered.

“
Sorry.” Debi frowned. “I’m for sharing and all, but this is a solo gig.”

Craft stared between them. “Whatever you decide, do it quickly and get out of my hair. I have work to do.” Ryder nailed him with a glare. Craft lifted his hands in a sign of acquiescence. “Your call, boss.”

Lauren braced her arms on her narrow hips, drawing attention to her ample bosom. Craft added in his intention to purchase surveillance equipment and burner phones, and Lauren offered to hold down the fort.

Ryder stepped into the melee before it grew into an argument. “Rose, you’re with me. We need Craft on computers and surveillance, but before you head out, put a tracker on Debi’s phone so we can keep an eye on her. Can I talk to you?” Ryder put a hand around Lauren’s bicep and led her to the back bedroom, torn between letting her stay at the ranch alone or riding along on bank surveillance. Both carried risks.

“
I know what you’re going to say. Stay down, stay safe.”

“
Something like that.”

“
Who says staying is safe? Bad things happen and we have no warning where and when. If I’m going to bite it, I’d like to do it actively resolving the problem rather than waiting around.”

Ryder brushed a hand through her long tresses. “You’re not going to bite it.”

She stepped into his embrace and his arms naturally circled her waist. “I learned something about myself when you left. I don’t handle the waiting well. At all. If something happened to you while we were apart, or something happened to me? The pain and the guilt would be unbearable.” Her voice faltered. She wrapped her arms around his waist and stared up at him with shimmering eyes. “I’m safer with you.”

Damn, but she had a point. “Okay, but you do what I say. No free styling.”

“
Would I do that?”

“
In a heartbeat.” He traced his fingers through her hair, felt her shiver in response. “You’re right. We are safer together.” For now. “But every mission has a leader, and today, that’s me.”

“
Yes, sir.” She lifted her hand in mock salute.

“
I see your smartass bone is fully healed.” He dropped a kiss to her lips. He meant to keep it light, but the energy running through his system made it damn hard to hold back. With a firm grip on her hair, he pulled her head back and dove in. When he lifted his head, her eyes stayed closed an extra moment, before opening with a wide grin.

“
Now I get to see how the big boys play.”

The big boys were boring. Lauren shifted in her seat, wedged between two hulking and overprotective men. She dropped her head to her hand, smacked her injury. Again. “Can we go already? We’ve been sitting here an hour.”

“
What’s the plan?” Ryder prompted her to repeat the plan. Again.

Lauren stared out the window. They were parked beside the bank. Traffic on the nearby street was steady as was traffic in and out of the parking lot. If they stayed any longer, someone was going to call the cops on suspicion of something. It’s not like they were sitting in a coffee shop or mall parking lot. “We all go in. We go to separate tellers. Make small deposits. Get a receipt. Easy-peasy, Ryder. Chill.” It’s not like they were going to rob the place. They just needed a name and face to go with the teller number Craft had found.

“
If something unexpected happens?”

“
Like what, Ryder?” The frustration welled up in her voice. They’d been over this plan too many times to count.

Rose set a gentle hand on her shoulder to turn her to face him. “He’s trying to keep you safe. Let him. It goes against training to let a civilian walk into danger.”

“
Do you honestly think there’s danger here?”

“
A week ago, did you honestly think someone would cut your brake line, cause a crash, and kidnap you?” Rose asked.

Lauren turned to Ryder and saw the unwinnable edge to his jawline. She couldn’t force them to go before they were ready, and honestly couldn’t force them to let her go into the bank if they didn’t want her to. “Fine. If something unexpected happens, I run out the door. I do not engage. I head straight for this truck.” She gripped the keys in a fist. “I get in the truck and drive off. Leaving the two of you to fend for yourselves.”

“
Damn straight.” Ryder nodded emphatically.

“
Can we go now?” Lauren winced. Even she heard the whiny edge to her tone, but she hadn’t prepared for the long time of nothingness that made up surveillance.

Rose twisted her around to face him again. “Sweetheart, this is how a mission runs. We brief it until everyone knows the plan. We plan for every contingency. You wanted to see how the big boys play. This is it.”

Ryder squeezed her thigh. “Most of the time, a mission is death by briefing.”

Lauren took a deep breath. “And the rest of the time?”

“
All hell rains down on your head. Since it’s your head, I’d rather avoid that outcome.”

All things being equal, she’d rather not lose her head. They had let her come, the least she could do was act like a part of the team. This was the chance to gain insight into her husband rather than watch silently from the sidelines. “Okay, so tell me what you’re looking for?”

Ryder’s eyes lightened with approval. He pointed at the building across from them. “Perfect spot for a sniper. As is this building.” He pointed to the one next to them. “We circled the building so we know all the entries and exits. We made sure all the cars in the parking lot are empty and no one followed us here. If we go inside, we make sure we control the area first. We don’t half-ass it because we’re stateside.”

“
What happens when you’re sure you control the environment?”

“
Accept that shit we cannot control will happen.”

Rose nodded his head in agreement. “Every damn time.”

Lauren’s heart rate increased. The building was a bank in the downtown area, but the way they viewed it, the way they saw the surrounding world, all of it notched up her stress. No wonder they’d jumped at the chance to be fearless. “Okay. Things I cannot control will happen.”

“
Use resourcefulness, agility, and intelligence to overcome the unknown. Egress if at all possible.”

“
Egress?”

“
Get the hell out.”

She glanced up at Ryder; willing him to see that she would do anything to stay on the same team, even follow orders. Then maybe they could become true partners. “What happens next?”

“
We go in. Rose, you take point. I’ll take rear.” Ryder slid off the bench seat and held out a hand to help her from the cab of the truck. Before she could move, he trapped her against the side. He dropped a punishing kiss to her lips before escorting her around the truck and across the lot. Following Rose with Ryder’s heat close at her back, she felt like someone protected by the Secret Service or something. She clicked the lock button on the key fob and followed the rules, stepped where Rose stepped until they hit the entry.

Two steps inside and Rose stopped. Lauren was so close she stumbled into his back. Wow, he was as packed as Ryder. And now her head really hurt. Rose did an about face. “We’ve got a problem,” he said.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Lauren’s head throbbed where she’d rammed against Rose’s back. He used his speed and agility to get them out of the lobby before she’d taken a full breath. Her heart pounded from his words and fast moves. Ryder opened the exterior door and they egressed like two tanks. Lauren tried to look over Rose’s shoulder, but he mashed her head down like bullets would start flying any minute. Once past the bank’s double doors, Rose dropped her to her feet and she stumbled several yards before stretching her legs to keep up. They ate up sidewalk on the way to the truck. “What trouble?”

Rose did a three-sixty sweep before speaking in low tones. “The plan just got easier. Remember the redhead from yesterday?”

Ryder nodded. Lauren looked between the two men. “What redhead?”

“
Real looker, built like a brick house. Had lunch with Smythe yesterday.”

“
Looks like we have the third player. Now, what do we do about it?”

“
Well, since you screwed our covers, dipshit.” Rose flicked Ryder on the ear. “She’ll make us the second she sets eyes on you or me.”

“
Smythe’s a slime ball. I don’t regret interrupting lunch. It was worth it. And she didn’t exactly look like she was there willingly.”

“
Slow down.” Lauren was practically skipping to keep up. “This would be so much easier if you took me with you yesterday.”

“
Smythe would have made you instantly.” Ryder wrapped an arm over her shoulder and took another look around, his eyes focusing on the cars surrounding the truck in the parking lot. The embrace felt more protective than personal.

Despite the sun beating down on them, a chill slithered over her skin. “How do we know she’s involved? If she wasn’t with Smythe willingly?”

“
Odds are, she’s the teller misdirecting the deposits.”

The logic was sound, but they needed proof. Lauren stepped free of Ryder’s heavy arm. “Why don’t I go in, go to her station, and make a deposit as planned. It’s not like it takes military training to make a bank deposit. The receipt will have her teller number, and I’ll get her name. That way, Craft can find her in the HR files. Then we’ll have a better sense of her involvement.”

“
You’re not going alone.” Ryder practically shoved her into the cab of the truck. “We’ll wait.”

Rose stood in the open door on the driver’s side, looking across the cab at Ryder. “You want to waste an entire day on worthless surveillance when we can get what we need and start running a background check?”

“
Yes.” Ryder got in the truck and slammed the door shut.

The truck interior was warm, even from the few minutes they’d been away, but Rose’s open door let the fresh air inside. “Quit being an ass.” Rose rested his hand atop the open door. “It’s an easy in and out, no danger. Lauren gets the information, so we can determine if the redhead is the bank teller or if there is yet another person involved. Once we have the name and teller number, we can get a background check before the teller leaves work for the day.”

“
No.”

“
Great discussion, Ryder.” Lauren dug her fingers into his thigh. “Remember that conversation we had about you being an arrogant ass?”

“
I don’t remember agreeing to send you into danger.”

“
Please. It’s a bank. Video cameras and a bank guard.” Lauren needed to go, to take part in recovering her life. She needed to prove to Ryder that she could be a part of a team. She’d signed over their home like a sniveling victim. “We can even watch for a few minutes so you know who is in the bank to make sure no one suspicious goes in or out.”

“
Your call, man.” But the expression on Rose’s face said he wanted this done.

Ryder took a breath as if trying to decide. So Lauren pushed. “Are you sure you don’t feel fear?”

“
This isn’t fear. This is operational control. You’re a civilian and this is an unknown situation. Rose, what did you see inside?”

“
Small branch, open layout with stands instead of a long row of tellers. Three stands, two tellers, one empty, plus a hallway leading to the back with a window looking out on the drive-thru. One teller at the drive-thru. No guard.” He grimaced. “Sorry, Lauren.”