Wicked Intentions (Steele Secrurity Book 4) (16 page)

“Nope.”

“All right. But you have to promise me something first.”

“Okay,” she replied, drawing the word out with a dubious tone. “What?”

“You absolutely will not engage in anything remotely related to a shootout until you’ve completed the full training for it.”

“I’ll make that promise, as long as you promise to actually deliver the full training program within a reasonable amount of time that’ll be determined by me at a later date,” she countered.

“You can’t determine the length of the training when you’re the trainee. I’ll know when you’re ready.”

“And I know you, and you’ll keep me as a trainee for the rest of my life. You have to guarantee I’ll move past trainee status within one year.” Heather crossed her arms over her chest and gave him the most obstinate expression she could muster.

“When you meet the same proficiencies we require of anyone who joins our firm, you move past trainee status. If it takes you longer than a year, that’s not my fault,” Rebel negotiated.

“Are these proficiencies already in writing?”

“Yes.”

“Deal.”

“I know I’m going to regret this.”

“Let’s go peek in their windows,” she suggested.

“In broad daylight? Have you not watched any spy movies?”

“Come on. It’ll be fun. It’s boring just sitting in the car, doing nothing but staring at the front door.”

“This is part of the job, babe. This is also what you’re signing up for. We can’t give away our position and let them move somewhere else we don’t know about. Speaking of, I’ll send Brad the address now.” With a few clicks on his phone, he sent the information to Brad so he could start gathering information and set up full-time surveillance.

Within minutes, an older car pulled up alongside them and rolled down the passenger window. Rebel looked the two guys over carefully and smiled. “Hello, Special Agents with the FBI. Where’s your Crown Vic to alert the whole neighborhood you’re with the Feds?”

“We’re dressed down and in a car that fits the neighborhood. What more do you want?” The agent in the passenger seat huffed and rolled his eyes.

“You need to slouch down in the seat. Your back is straight as a rod. The people around here don’t sit like that, especially when they’re waiting for someone to show up to do business. Mess your hair up a little more. Narrow your eyes, but not like you’re squinting from the sun. More like you’re daring anyone to look in your general direction. The clothes and the car do not make the undercover man, your attitude does,” Rebel explained. “I don’t want you boys killed on my watch.”

“Appreciate the concern,” the driver deadpanned.

“And don’t speak so formal. That’s another dead giveaway that’ll get you killed.”

“We’re here to take over surveillance for you. I’m Stahl, and this is Baer,” the driver replied.

“’Preciate it,” Rebel replied pointedly as he cranked the engine. “Yell if you need anything.”

On the way back to the hotel, Reaper called Rebel’s cell phone. “Hey, Reap. We’re on our way.”

The silence caught Heather’s attention, and she knew something was wrong from the expression on his face.

“I’m putting you on speaker. Can you repeat that for Heather?”

“Sure. We received another letter from Rashad today. This one is for my mother.

“
T
hat sounds
like a threat to take your mom away, but also an indirect threat to you, Reap. He’s going after your whole family,” Rebel replied. “We’ll be there in fifteen.”

“
E
yes on primary target
,” Shadow whispered into his comm. “Positive ID on Rashad. Shoot to kill approved?”

“Negative,” Reaper replied. “Orders straight from the top. Latest intel says chatter is going wild. We’ve located the only known head of the cell, but he’s not the top dog. We need him to find who he’s taking orders from.

“Seriously?” Shadow answered, his voice thick with disappointment. “But I just got a new gun. It hasn’t killed anyone yet.”

Hushed chuckles reverberated through the comms. “Don’t let that asshole get away with that, Reap,” Rebel replied. “Primary threatened my wife first. My gun gets the pleasure.”

“You win. I sure as fuck ain’t getting married just to shoot someone,” Shadow retorted.

“Man, if you got married, you’d be the one getting shot,” Rebel countered.

Louder, uncontrollable snickers rolled through their earpieces as the men tried to contain their laughter at Shadow’s expense. “I honestly can’t argue with that,” Shadow chuckled. “Primary on the move toward the west entrance.”

“Delivery truck moving in your direction,” Bull replied.

“Primary disabled the alarm system. If the delivery truck stops here, I’m gaining entry while he’s distracted,” Shadow whispered. “I have the alarm code if needed. Simple system, easy to bypass if I have to.”

“Copy that,” Reaper confirmed.

The delivery truck stopped at the curb, and the driver walked across the grass to deliver another large box of supplies. Rashad stood on the front porch with the door standing open behind him. He smiled and made idle chitchat with the driver while he signed for the package on the handheld device.

“Get the name he just used,” Reaper commanded. “We’re cross-checking everything.”

“Copy that,” Brad replied. “Rashad is signing the same name as the owner of the house. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. The owner has business ties back to his uncle, the ambassador.”

“He doesn’t know he’s being sloppy. His cockiness will be his downfall,” Bull responded. “It’s the letters—he thinks we’re distracted by them.”

“And everyone he works with is spread out across the whole city. No one lives within ten miles of the others. That’s for a reason,” Silas advised. “Don’t be fooled by his aloofness. Whatever they’re planning, they have contingency plans.”

“Agreed,” Reaper replied. “So we take them all at once. Rebel, have you finished with those encrypted files?”

“Negative. I’ve partly decoded one, but they change the key frequently.”

“I’m in,” Shadow interjected. “Finding a comfy spot in the corner.”

“I hope you took a piss before you went inside,” Bull joked.

“Well. I didn’t have to go, but now that you’ve mentioned it…”

“Delivery truck leaving,” Bull noted. “Primary inside.”

“He went downstairs,” Shadow whispered. “There’s a basement. Starting the jammer and going radio silent for a few. If there are any interior cameras, they’ll be inoperable now.” He retrieved a small signal jammer from his pocket and turned it on.

Shadow waited several minutes until he was sure Rashad was staying in the basement before leaving his hiding place. He moved silently through the expansive home, placing concealed cameras in various locations to provide his team with a perfect view of the interior. As small as miniature buttons, they came complete with strong adhesive on the back so they could be affixed to furniture, picture frames, or most anything else. When he’d covered all the areas he could, Shadow moved back to the door he’d entered through and crept back outside.

Shadow turned the signal jamming device off and waited for Brad to pick up the tiny spy cameras. “He forgot to turn the alarm back on,” Shadow whispered when he was back in his place.

“All cameras are transmitting now,” Brad notified the team. “Man, I love our new tech. Can you guys stay on active duty so we can keep everything they gave us to use?”

“You can always enlist,” Bull deadpanned. “Then you can keep whatever you want.”

“We need to get back into that house and see what’s in the basement. I’d bet all of Brad’s tech on finding more than what we need down there. I’ll take first watch. If he leaves under the cover of darkness, I’m going down there,” Reaper decided.

“Why don’t you let me take first watch, Reap?” Shadow asked. “You need to go see your dad while he’s awake. If our boy leaves, I have a few cameras left I can use in the basement.”

“Ten-four. Brad, alert me immediately if Shadow enters the house again,” Reaper replied.

The men left in different directions, covering their tracks and staying alert for any indication they’d been spotted. When they were each positive it was safe, they made their way back to the hotel. As soon as they walked through the door, Brianna, Chaise, and Heather were waiting impatiently for their safe return.

“Noah,” Brianna sighed with relief and rushed into his arms. “It’s about time.”

“I was perfectly safe. Nowhere near harm, princess,” he assured her.

“I think I’m getting too old for this,” she laughed. “It isn’t exciting anymore.”

“See, Noah said there was no danger. Why couldn’t I go with you?” Heather pulled her head back to look Rebel in the eye. “You said it would be dangerous.”

“It would be dangerous for you to go. You’d try to storm the keep.” He smiled before kissing her. “You were safer here than you would’ve been with me.”

“Silas, come give me a hug and a big kiss,” Liz asserted. “You look like you need someone to come home to.”

While sputtering and coughing on the drink of water he’d swallowed just as Liz spoke, he pounded on his chest with his fist to clear his airway. “Um, well, I’d love to give you a hug, Liz.” Silas wrapped his arm around her shoulders, lightly squeezed her, and kissed her on the top of the head, but his gaze swept toward Emily’s amused smile.

“Where’s Shadow?” Liz asked.

“He’s still on the job.”

“He was supposed to teach me some spy tricks this evening,” Liz huffed. She looked up at Silas with wonder. “Hey, you’re CIA, too. You know how to do the spy makeup tricks. I’ll let you show me all your secrets.” She waggled her eyebrows at him and swayed her hips a little more forcefully as she walked away. “Let’s go to your room, Silas. Joe claimed he was too busy guarding all of us to teach me anything while you fellows were gone. It’s time—right now.”

Noah slid his hand over his mouth, trying to wipe the smile from his face, but he couldn’t hide it. “You’d better get going, big brother. She doesn’t like to be kept waiting. She’s liable to help herself to your stuff.”

“Silas,” Liz called out. “What is this in here? Do you wear the thongs? I didn’t know they made them for men, too. Woo, these are downright sexy.”

Silas glanced around the room, catching all the snickers and stares, and was so horrified he was unable to respond.

“Oh, wait,” she yelled. “It would’ve been sexy, but this patch of fabric is tiny. You know, I’ve seen commercials about these pills that enlarge your penis. You should look into those. They might help you get a girl. It didn’t say how much the pills makes it grow, but even a little is better than nothing. Especially in your case.”

“Liz, get out of my disguises. That’s an eye patch, not a thong!” Silas yelled as he stormed into the bedroom.

“No need to be ashamed now, young man. We’ll call it an eye patch if that makes you feel better.”

“If anyone is going to the hospital with Bri and me, let’s plan on leaving in the next fifteen minutes or so. We need to go see Dad while we can,” Noah told the group.

“I’m going,” Heather replied. “I need to check on my patients.”

“That means I’m going, too.” Rebel smiled.

“We’re all going, Reap,” Bull interjected. “We’re family, no matter what.”

Minutes later, the group reassembled in the common meeting area to go to the hospital together. When Chaise walked into Brianna’s suite, she stopped short and her mouth dropped open. “Umm, how did you get into this room?”

“I can get into any room, sweetheart.” The disheveled man sat casually on the couch, unconcerned with his intrusion, and held one bushy eyebrow in a defiant arc. His clothes were well-worn and varying shades of brown. So much so, he almost blended in with the couch beneath him. His short brown hair lay flat on his head, and his light five-o’clock shadow effectively hid any identifying characteristics. “What do you think you can do about it?”

“She doesn’t have to do anything about it,” Bull said as he stepped around Chaise, shielding her with his massive body. “That’s what she has me for. You have about two seconds to start talking before you tragically fall from this luxury high-rise hotel floor.”

“You can try.”

Bull moved toward the man with his threatening stance and determined demeanor but was stopped by a large hand gripping his shoulder. “It’s okay, Bull,” Silas assured him. “Don’t let him rile you.”

When Bull turned and looked at Silas, he automatically stepped back and did a double take. Silas’s normally black hair was sandy blond and curly. Even his eyebrows matched his lighter hair. The scruff that covered his jawline wasn’t there just an hour before. His chocolate brown eyes were now a nondescript shade of green. “You have Silas’s voice, but you don’t look one bit like Silas.”

“Well, I wouldn’t
sound
like Silas if Liz hadn’t stolen my voice synthesizer.” Silas nodded toward the man sitting on the couch.

“Liz?” Chaise asked incredulously. “Is that you?”

“It’s me, sweet pea. Silas made me up into one bad dude, didn’t he?”

“So good that it’s really freaking me out. How? What? I don’t even know where to start with my questions,” Chaise replied.

“Oh, no. Not you, too,” Silas replied. “I’ve been tortured enough by Liz over my mad spy skills. No more trainees.”

“Don’t you worry, sweet girl. If you want to know anything, you just ask me. I’ll get it out of Silas one way or another,” Liz assured her.

Chaise laughed, knowing Liz would do just that if asked. “What’s your clandestine name?”

“Chris Evans. No relation to the superhunk.”

Silas shook his head and rolled his eyes at Liz. “You’re supposed to pick an easily forgettable name.”

“And you are?” Chaise asked Silas.

“Neil Brown.”

“Boring,” Liz retorted.

“How did you change your voice to a man’s voice?” Chaise asked Liz.

“I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.” Liz winked. “I’ve always wanted to say that. It’s this little chip on my neck, hidden under a thin piece of latex that looks like skin. A little adhesive, a bit of blending, and voila—I’m a man.”

“Let’s go, guys,” Noah announced as he, Brianna, and Amelia emerged from the bedroom. “Rebel and Heather are meeting us at the hospital, then they’ll go back to their house tonight.”

* * *

“
O
kay
,” Rebel announced.

Heather turned her attention to him as he drove and waited for him to finish his thought. After several heartbeats, she realized he had apparently already finished. “Okay? Okay, what?”

“Okay, I’m ready to have a baby. I’m ready to start a family. I’m ready to spend every day with you. As soon as this case is wrapped up and I’m off active duty again, we’ll start actively trying to get pregnant. In the meantime, we’ll keep practicing until we’re perfect.

“I’ll give my notice to Reaper as soon as possible so he can start looking to replace me. I don’t want to do it just yet and distract him from the case, though. Roman is doing really well. Maybe Reap will take a chance and promote him into my position. I’ll move back here, and we’ll figure out the rest together.”

“You’re really going to quit the job you love, leave your best friends, and move back here?”

“I love you more.” He shrugged. “There’s never been any question about that.”

“And you’re sure you want to have a baby?”

“I’m sure. I watch Reaper and Bri with Amelia, and I know they’re happier than they’ve ever been. They both wear their hearts on their sleeves, and there’ll never be a day Reaper doesn’t worry about them, but they’ll never regret having her. You’re right, we’ve missed enough time together living out our own lives. We put our marriage second whether we meant to or not.”

“I never intentionally meant to put you or our marriage second, Brax,” Heather replied in a pained whisper. Her eyes held a faraway gaze, lost in thought and retrospection.

“My best psycho-babble guess is we’ve lived our lives this way out of fear. Fear of a repeat. Fear that everyone was right when they told us we’d never make it. Fear that too much time together would bring all the memories flooding back to the surface and we wouldn’t be able to deal with the pain. The truth is I’ve never been able to deal with the pain and the memories, but it’s worse without you by my side.

“So before we do this—before we fully commit to it—I need you to be completely honest with me. Do I remind you of him? Of Dalton? Do you see him when you look at me?”

Heather turned in her seat to fully face him. “When I look at you, I see the one person I love most in the world. I see the boy I grew up with, the man I love, and the only one I’d ever want to be the father of my children. Of course, I think of Dalton when I look at you, but only because I would’ve wanted him to grow up to be just like you. The truth is, I’ll see all of our children in you, and I wouldn’t want to change that for anything.”