The heavy tools in his backpack bumped into his spine as he circled around to the left side of the house, looking for an easy entry point. Over the last day he’d thought of several ways to kill the target; some where he had to get up close, others…not so much. Because it allowed him an easy escape route, he’d already decided on the latter. He had what he needed to set everything up right in his backpack. If he could sneak in he could do it now and carry out the hit tonight. But he didn’t like that the neighbor lady might be watching. For all he knew she might be on the phone to the landlord right now to talk about things that needed to be done in the yard. Last thing he wanted was to make anyone suspicious or investigate further.
Then, as if it was a message from above, the first drops of rain began to fall and made the decision for him. They hit the brim of his cap, pattered against the leaf-covered roof. Looked like the lady next door might have a flooded yard in the morning. The wet only increased the likelihood that he’d leave muddy tracks in the yard.
Aborting the plan to go ahead with the setup today, Mo quickly strode around to the front of the house and crossed the street to his rental vehicle. As he drove away through the steadily increasing rain, he was already planning his next move.
****
Gage rolled up and parked at the curb out front since Hunter and Ellis had already taken up the driveway of the safe house the NSA had put them in. It was just after seven, the sky already dark and the rain had eased off to a light shower. Normally he’d be out tailing Claire but she’d been in meetings on another floor most of the afternoon and he hadn’t heard from her since lunch. She’d replied to his text inviting her out for a bite to eat saying she couldn’t meet up for dinner because she had plans to go out with her best friend, Mel, after work.
Rather than look like a desperate ex or tip her off that she needed watching, he’d arranged for Dunphy to tail her instead. It bugged Gage that he couldn’t keep eyes on her himself, but he trusted Dunphy. Guys didn’t make Force Recon without amazing observation skills, and if any threat should materialize on Dunphy’s watch, he could handle it.
Gage let himself in through the front door and found Hunt and Ellis at the kitchen island drinking beer and eating a plate of what looked like nachos. Chips and cheese, nothing else. Gage set his laptop case and shoulder holster down and shook his head at them. “That’s dinner? I fill the fridge last night and that’s the best you could come up with?”
“Yeah. Feel free to whip up something else for yourself,” Hunt replied, stuffing a wad of cheese-drenched chips into his mouth.
Gage strolled into the kitchen. “Okay. You boys’re welcome to watch this free cooking lesson, so long as you don’t bother asking me for any of it when I’m done.”
“Can’t guarantee that. Depends on what you’re making,” Ellis commented, slapping Hunt’s hand away from a giant glob of cheese stuck to the plate and stealing it for himself.
“None of your business, is it?” Gage answered, and started digging ingredients out of the fridge. Chorizo, bell peppers, cream, garlic and parmesan. The others continued munching on their chips while he chopped and minced. He’d just put everything in a pan on the stove to sauté when his phone vibrated in his hip pocket. He dug it out and read Dunphy’s text
. Zahra just showed up to meet them.
A moment later,
Best surveillance job EVER.
And finally,
I love you, man.
Snorting, Gage put it away and got back to the chorizo and peppers sizzling in the pan. He noticed both Ellis and Hunter were now staring at it like hungry wolves, their half-demolished dinner sitting abandoned between them. “Sure smells good,” he said to himself, giving the pan a little shake as he hid a grin.
Ellis sat forward on his stool, taking a closer look. “That’s too much, even for you. I’ll eat whatever’s left over.”
“There’s not gonna be any leftovers. Maybe you two losers should put in a little more effort next time, huh?”
“Where the hell did you learn to cook like that, anyway? Cuz it wasn’t in the Army.” Scowling, Hunter picked up his beer and took a long pull.
He shrugged. “I’m a divorced dad. Can’t feed your kid fucking nachos and mac and cheese every night. It was either figure out how to cook real food, or risk poisoning my only child.” He’d been a piss poor cook at first, too. Poor Janelle. Now his pasta carbonara was her favorite dish and he had a handful of go-to meals that were actually damn tasty. He had Claire to thank for that, at least in part. She’d been the one to encourage him to continue with his clumsy attempts to reach out to his daughter when he hadn’t been sure how to bridge the gap between them. Claire had been a steadying presence in his chaotic life, which was why he’d been so crushed then pissed off when she’d kicked him to the curb.
Ellis shoved the half empty grease-covered plate toward Hunter. “Here, have at ‘er.” A few moments later he was at Gage’s elbow, peering down into the pan. “Do that flippy thing again. You know, the… ” He mimicked the motion with his hand.
“What, this?” Gage raised the pan slightly and gave a flick of his wrist to toss the contents around, catching them all without spilling.
“Yeah. That’s freaking awesome. Bet chicks dig that move, huh?”
“Yep.” It had certainly impressed Claire. One morning when she’d come into his kitchen and found him flipping pancakes like that, she’d jumped him right there at the stove, ripping off his clothes and climbing his body like a tree. They’d hit the floor laughing and he’d barely had the sense to reach up for the switch to turn off the stove. That morning they’d missed breakfast and wound up eating the pancakes for lunch instead. The memory of it was bittersweet, filled his gut with that familiar ache he always experienced when he thought about her.
“For Christ’s sake, don’t drool in it,” Gage muttered, elbowing Ellis out of the way. “Grab me the heavy cream over there and two plates.”
“Heavy cream?”
“Whipping cream. Jesus, don’t you watch the Food Network?” Ellis quickly passed it to him and stood silently while Gage made the sauce and let it reduce. “Normally I’d toss this with some fettuccini but I’m way too fucking hungry to wait for the water to boil.”
Ellis nodded. “Word.”
When it was finished Gage divided the steaming mixture onto the plates. Ellis went with him to the table and the two of them dug in while Hunter watched. Ellis moaned and rolled his eyes back on the first bite and Gage couldn’t help but grin at Hunter’s sullen expression.
“Good?” Gage asked Ellis.
“Mmmhmmm,” he mumbled around another mouthful, his eyes half closed in pleasure.
In response Hunter narrowed his eyes at them and pointedly shoved a couple more greasy nacho chips into his mouth.
With a chuckle Gage turned his attention back to his plate and polished off his dinner. One forkful from finishing, his phone rang.
“Aren’t you the popular one tonight,” Hunter remarked as Gage put the thing to his ear.
Gage held up his middle finger as he answered the unknown number. “Wallace.”
“Gage?”
He stilled and frowned. The male voice was familiar somehow but he couldn’t place it. “Yeah. Who’s this?”
“It’s Wayne. Claire’s dad.” The urgency in his voice lit up Gage’s inner warning system.
He was up and out of the chair heading for the quiet of the living room without conscious thought. Wayne had never called him before. Ever. “Hi there. How are you?”
“I’m…not good. I didn’t know who else to call.” The man’s voice cracked, sending Gage’s pulse up a notch.
Claire was fine, still out with her friends, or Dunphy would’ve called. “What’s wrong?”
A shaky sigh answered him. “I can’t get hold of Claire but she told me you were in town. Are you still?”
“Yeah, what do you need?”
“Just… Can you meet me at her place? I need to talk with her and it would help to have you here when I do.” He was near tears, the ragged edge to his voice making the hair on Gage’s nape prickle. “I’ll tell you everything when you get here.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Gage hung up and raced back into the kitchen to grab his keys. Hunter and Ellis were on their feet.
“What’s up? Do you need us?” Hunter asked.
He shook his head. “Not yet. That was Claire’s dad. He wants me to meet him at her place. I’ll call you once I know what the hell’s going on.”
Whatever it was, it was bad. On the way out to the SUV he tried Claire’s cell but it went straight to voicemail. He texted Dunphy to blow his cover, go in there and tell Claire to call her father. Dunphy texted back thirty seconds later that she’d already left the restaurant and he was following her. Gage hoped she was going home. As for him, he was going to make sure he found out what was happening before she got there.
“Thanks for dragging me out tonight,” Claire said as she hugged her best friend.
Mel squeezed her in return, her answering laugh warm and bright as a sunbeam. “You’re welcome. It’s been way too long since we’ve gone out. I knew you needed it.”
“I did, more than I realized. I used to be fun, dammit! Wait, I’m still fun, right?” She pulled back to eye her friend.
“Definitely,” Mel said, then looked at Zahra, who was at the curb pulling her long black hair into a clip at the base of her neck. “She’s still entertaining, yeah?”
“Very much so,” Zahra agreed, hazel eyes dancing with humor. “Who knew?”
“Oh, come on, you always suspected I was fun to hang out with,” Claire told her.
She shrugged. “Yeah, I did, but consider the source. I’m a linguist, so not really known for lighting the night up, you know?”
“Well I kind of like that about you.” Claire turned her attention back to Mel, who’d spent half the evening digging for details about Gage and the other regaling tales of her own recent dating disasters. “God it felt good to laugh like that. Been a while.”
“That’s what I’m here for—to provide you with comic relief about my horror show dating experiences when life gets you down.”
Chuckling, Claire nudged her with her shoulder. “I appreciate the sacrifice. Where the hell do you meet these guys, anyway?”
Mel made a face, her nose wrinkling in distaste. “In all the wrong places, apparently.”
“Oh no, that’s all me,” Zahra cut in. “And thus, I’ve sworn off dating for at least the next six months. I’ve decided to upgrade from my apartment, rent a house and adopt a bunch of rescue cats. If I can’t find a decent man I want to be with, I can at least turn into a crazy cat lady in peace and quiet.”
“You liar. I saw the way you and Dunphy were eyeing each other today when you thought no one was looking.” Claire arched an eyebrow, daring her to deny it.
Zahra’s dusky cheeks turned pink. “He’s nice to look at. So what? Doesn’t mean anything and I stand by my original claim. No men for the next six months. Just cats.”
Mel shook her head in exasperation. “Zahra, I know I’ve just met you but I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. A little self imposed celibacy is fine, but I draw the line at becoming a cat hoarder. You’ll just have to hang out with Claire and me instead.” Mel draped an arm around the taller woman’s shoulders and started leading her toward her car. “Night, sweetie, drive safe,” she called out to Claire. “And I want to hear every last detail about Gage next time we talk, or this friendship is over!”
“Nothing to tell,” Claire called back, the mention of his name thankfully doing nothing to dampen her spirits. Man, a night out with the girls and a couple martinis and she felt like a new woman. After the nice relaxing glow from the drinks, they’d waited until the alcohol had worn off enough to allow her to drive home.
Out of habit she pulled out her phone to check for messages, then remembered the battery was dead. A blessing in disguise really, since now there’d be no texts asking her to stop by Danny’s again before she headed home. Feeling relaxed and happy for once, she was looking forward to capping off her night curled up in bed with a good book.
Since it was almost nine, the traffic was light on the drive home and the rain had finally stopped. Turning onto her street she spotted her father’s old pickup sitting in her driveway and let out a groan, the shine on her good mood slipping. She wasn’t sure she had the mental energy to deal with any more family drama right now, and she damn sure didn’t have any interest in doing so. Her father didn’t come by often, not unless she invited him over for dinner or something, and she’d dropped off a load of groceries at his place only last night so she wasn’t sure why he was here.