Tamed by Love (Agent Lovers Series Book 2) (8 page)

“Will you name him Jeff, if it’s a boy?”

The guy just didn’t give up! “Do you seriously think that whenever we do have a baby, we’ll name it after you of all people?”

“Why not? It’s a beautiful name.”

“That’s up for debate!”

“That’s what I always say too!” Jeff’s partner, Joey, had been listening to the brothers’ banter and couldn’t hold back a comment any longer.

“Hey! Quit butting in. This is a family matter! So keep your stupid comments to yourself! Next time you’re in hot water, don’t call me.” Jeff’s outrage gave Joey a nice laugh.

“Calm down, Jeff. And as far as our plans for children are concerned, you’d better butt out,” Gray said.

“Hey, maybe next time you two are doing it, don’t put me in a room next door! Then maybe I’ll get some sleep and won’t have to wonder if a little Blackwood is being made.”

Joey laughed so hard that he had to stop and hold his stomach while he continued to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“Hey, you chose to stay with us. Don’t come crying to me!” Gray smiled at the thought that he and Liz had kept Jeff from sleeping.

The door to the small computer room opened and Gray let out a sigh of relief. Chris walked in with two cups of steaming coffee. Gray desperately needed it, since they had been there for almost 24 hours, monitoring Jeff and Joey’s training assignment.

This assignment had been riddled with various traps, all of which the men had to expertly avoid. Gray was proud of his brother, who had worked his way through this mission with flying colors. But he wouldn’t let Jeff know it, otherwise his brother’s ego would be out of control.

“Don’t bother! Jeff’s a windbag. He only wants to buy some toys so he can play with them himself,” Joey said, pulling Gray out of his thoughts. For that, Jeff threw a clump of dirt at his back, which didn’t have any effect because it ricocheted off his backpack. “How long have you actually been married?”

“Almost three months,” said Gray smiling at the thought.

“So, enjoy your time without children. Look at it this way: as long as you don’t have any children, you have your wife all to yourself. Later, you’ll be second fiddle.”

“I’d be okay with that.”

“So if you want a baby, what’s stopping you?”

“Liz doesn’t want to give up her job.”

“It can’t be that time-consuming, stressful or dangerous, that you can’t work in a child.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Do you know of anything more dangerous than what we do?” said Joey, glancing over his shoulder at Jeff. “Putting your head in an alligator’s mouth might be riskier.” Joey shook his head. “You see, Gray! We have the most dangerous job in the world. Your brother just confirmed it. What does your wife do?”

“Exactly the same thing as you and Jeff.”

“No way!” Joey stopped, turned around and looked at Jeff in disbelief. “Is that true?”

“You bet! I’ve even seen her on an assignment. Those two are really good.”

“What two? A team of two women? That’s insane!”

“Eh hem. Jennifer, Liz’s partner, is married to Chris, by the way.”

“Phew! You really took on quite a challenge.”

“Thanks a lot, Joey!” said Chris. “But I don’t refer to my wife as a challenge. She can be difficult at times, but definitely not a challenge.”

“Don’t take it the wrong way, Chris! I was just surprised… Hm, is it that you’re itching for children so badly, so they’d be taken out of the unit?”

“Can you read minds too?”

“No, but if I were married and in a similar situation, then that’s how I’d think. Something just occurred to me…”

“Fascinating,” said Gray. “Now, let me hear your little flash of inspiration!”

“Quit using contraception!”

Jeff laughed hysterically when he heard his brother and Chris groan over the headset.

“That’s the problem. They get long-term birth control shots.”

“Well, you could try it for a while. But there’s a guarantee that no baby will come of it.”

“Don’t you think we know that?” said Chris. He glanced at Gray who was shaking his head and looked at the ceiling as if he would find the answer there. With a sigh he turned to the large monitor on the wall and steered the conversation in a different direction.

“Enough fun at our expense! You have two more miles before you reach the helicopter. Your training isn’t over until you’re warming your sorry butts on the bench in the LAKOTA. Until then, keep your mouths shut, otherwise we’ll deduct points from your evaluation.”

Jeff acknowledged the threat saying, “Stuffy old man.”

Gray ignored the comment. “Maintain direction. Meeting spot with the helicopter in two miles.” Then he snatched his coffee cup from the table and leaned back. While he watched the two men as they carved their way to the helicopter, his thoughts drifted to Liz. She was constantly on his mind. It calmed him when he thought of her, even though not everything was resolved in their relationship. Since he had admitted his feelings to her, she had tried even harder to keep her distance from him. He even started to believe, he was spinning his wheels with Liz. Whether Gray wanted to admit it or not, he was afraid Liz’s will to suppress her feelings might be too strong. She doggedly refused him access to her inner self; she didn’t share her thoughts or reveal her true character. Gray knew they could be happy together but was also aware of the fact that this wouldn’t happen, if Liz didn’t open up, love him and believe in their potential.

He stared into his half-empty cup. For God’s sake! Slowly he worked out how he could bypass her continuous denial of her feelings so they could finally come together. Why couldn’t Liz understand that she didn’t need to use this kind of defense mechanism with him? She had been able to accept their marriage, why not his feelings for her too? She had to know that his love was genuine.

The thought crept over him that maybe Liz would never be able to love him. Quickly he shoved this aside. That was something he wouldn’t accept under any circumstances. Never in his life had he given up without a fight. And as far as Liz was concerned, he would spend the rest of his life fighting for her love, if he had to.

Gray continued to stare into his cup, lost in thought, and didn’t notice Chris had been watching him for a while.

Chris waved his hand in front of Gray’s eyes. “No time for dreaming, buddy.”

“I wasn’t—”

“Yeah, sure!”

“Spare me.”

“Hey, it’s okay. Do you really believe I don’t know what’s up with you? I have the same issue.” With his legs stretched out in front of him under the table, Chris leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Jeff really got on your nerves, didn’t he?”

“Um hm. If he could have at least been helpful somehow.” He exhaled, then gulped his coffee and put it down on the table. “I’m out of ideas.”

“No kidding! I was there for a while too.”

Gray raised his head and looked at curiously at Chris. “And now you aren’t?”

“I’m trying something else.”

“Yeah?”

“Has it occurred to you how little contact Jennifer and Liz have with their families?”

“Of course. But that’s because of their jobs.”

Chris shook his head. “That can’t be the only reason. For Jennifer it’s not just about keeping her family safe. She gets panicky every time I even mention her parents. She probably thinks I don’t notice, but she doesn’t know me well enough yet.” Chris sipped his coffee. “And since everything else I’ve tried has failed, I’ve decided to get closer to her parents. Both of them are only too happy to tell me how Jennifer used to be. From that, I’m getting to know her a little better, even if she isn’t the one telling me about her past. And maybe, with a little luck, I’ll find out what I can do so she’ll finally open up.”

Gray nodded. Chris had a point. Maybe it really was time to try something different to advance his relationship with Liz.

Gray stared at the annual report he had gotten from Harold. He flipped through the pages without really looking at them. His mind constantly drifted back to what Chris had said during their last assignment. Chris’s comment gave him an idea he couldn’t let go.

Could it be, that the tense relationship Liz had with her family had also come between the two of them? If he managed to bring Liz and her family closer, would she then finally turn to him? With a curse, Gray closed the file and pushed it away from him. He had lost his focus and could only think of his most pressing problem—his wife.

It had become clear to him that Liz had to speak with Harold and John before they could come together as a family. That would mean she had to come clean with them about her life and her job. She withheld the truth from them and didn’t allow any candid contact between them. So Liz saw herself forced to suppress the obvious feelings she harbored for her father, her brother and also for Annie—a kind of self-preservation that had an effect on her whole emotional wellbeing. Helplessly he ran his fingers through his hair before he sank into the huge leather chair and stared at the black monitor. He couldn’t force Liz to confide in her family. If he did that, he would lose her. Still, on their failed wedding night, he vowed to himself, to never again force her to do something. Their marriage would remain the only exception. She had to approach Harold and John on her own. The only thing he could do was nudge Liz carefully in the right direction. He hoped that after a face-to-face with the Gibsons, Liz would finally open up to him and discover her love for him.

Pleased with himself, Gray crossed his arms. A smile of anticipation showed on his striking face. He made up his mind—that’s exactly what he would do. Who could object to a dinner together or a casual meeting? That’s simply what families did. When Liz became aware of what she missed, sooner or later she would make the right decision. A decision that could only be advantageous for everyone involved.

Gray was convinced everything would turn around. He reached for the annual report to finish his review of the information, when his phone rang. It was Townsend. Gray groaned.

“There’s a problem, Blackwood.”

“What kind, Sir?”

“I’ll tell you as soon as you and Robbins are in my office. Where’s your wife?”

“Liz and Jennifer are spending time at the shooting range and at the training center, enjoying their day off. Is this about a new assignment?”

“Not for your wives. I’ll expect you and your partner in my office in two hours.”

Before Gray could respond, Townsend had hung up. Townsend’s surly tone gave Gray an uneasy feeling. Even if it wasn’t about an assignment for Liz and Jennifer, he still guessed that the mentioned ‘problem’ had something to do with them. In his haste, Gray dropped the telephone on the desk and hurried to the door.

***

“Sit down!” Townsend pointed to the two chairs in front of his desk. The lieutenant general’s expression was tight-lipped and seemed more pinched than ever. Deep lines were etched around his mouth.

“What’s the problem you mentioned on the phone, Sir?” asked Gray, hoping it didn’t concern Liz and Jennifer. Apparently Chris had the same hope because his usual smile was gone.

Townsend looked between them before he voiced the impossible. “We have to assume that hackers have gotten into our central computer. They have obviously extracted some of the files that concern one of my units. All active agents.”

“I’d prefer you didn’t beat around the bush, Sir.” Gray leaned forward in his chair. “It’s about the TDAs, isn’t it?”

Townsend nodded.

“What about Liz and Jennifer?”

“Unfortunately, they were among them. It involves six agents.”

“What about Jeff?”

“Your brother isn’t part of it. He’s one of the TDAs who wasn’t affected.”

Stunned, Gray closed his eyes and shook his head. The worst that could happen to an agent’s security clearance had happened. What followed couldn’t be determined.

“How did you learn of it, Sir?” Chris asked. “Is there a trail for us to follow? A suspect?”

“That’s the problem,” Townsend said with a sigh. “We don’t have anything concrete. No lead worth mentioning. No clue. No suspect.”

“How did you learn about it? If there isn’t a clue, how do we know that the files have been stolen? Maybe there’s just been a mistake.” Even as Gray hoped that this was the case, he knew it wasn’t. His boss would never bank on blank assumptions over facts.

“The files have been sold on the black market.” The comment struck like a bomb. Shocked, Chris looked at Gray, who couldn’t believe what he had just heard either.

“Sold? On the black market?” said Chris, horrified. “That’s outrageous!”

“That’s exactly how the situation can be described, Robbins.” Townsend nodded and pushed two large files across the desk. “Unfortunately, the black market isn’t just reserved for brand-name products, art objects or rare animals. There’s a strong demand for information there as well. The number of people that deal exclusively with that, however, is manageable. Fortunately we have contact with the intermediaries for almost all known dealers and brokers in order to buy back information. There are only a handful of these dealers who are still anonymous. Up until now, our intermediaries have only been able to make contact with these people on the Internet and establish a kind of business relationship.”

“And it’s through one of these anonymous brokers that the files have been sold,” guessed Gray.

“Exactly. Leadership collapsed during the auction and we weren’t able to establish it again soon enough. Another interested buyer was awarded the bid, and we don’t know his identity. All of our powers of persuasion came to nothing; the dealer hasn’t answered any of our messages or any of our direct offers for the name of the buyer.”

“Which means what? Either we wait for them to strike, or we find the hacker who sold them the files?”

“Something like that, Blackwood. We don’t have any other choice, other than to start from scratch to find a roundabout way to the buyer. It’ll take several specialists to find a trail in the main computer, as tiny as that might be. Up until now, we thought our security system was absolutely impenetrable. The person who did this must be a genius hacker. And there aren’t many of them.”