Chapter 16
—It’s cute that you think I’m asking for permission.—
Lucy paused the recording on her computer—one of the files that Leighton or his team had gotten from someone in the FBI—as her phone rang. She was tired of listening to the monotonous recordings of her uncle talking with various people. It wasn’t doing her any good, and hearing his voice only enraged her now. It was probably better that Leighton hadn’t told her about what her uncle had done before she’d met with him. She wasn’t sure she could have seen him and acted normal. Leighton had left an hour ago to run an errand so she was using the opportunity to acquaint herself more with the files he’d originally given her.
When she saw Nathan’s cell phone number, she answered immediately. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself. How’s your day off?”
“Pretty good.” She kept her tone light and easygoing. What was going on in her life was no one’s business, especially not someone she worked with.
“Good. You deserve the time off.”
“So what’s up?” Because Nathan wouldn’t be calling unless there was an issue. They were friendly and she liked him, but they were coworkers, not friends. And she was his boss so she was always aware of that line.
“Your uncle is at the hotel today and he’s in a mood,” Nathan whispered.
“Oh yeah? How bad?” Nathan was one of the few employees who knew they were related.
“Eh. He’s normally brusque, but he seems ragey today. I saw him berating one of the security guys and he made one of the cleaning crew cry. I know you can’t do anything about it, but I thought you’d want to know. To maybe…smooth things over later.”
Lucy saw her uncle in a totally different light now so it was taking all her restraint not to voice her own anger at him. “Thanks for letting me know. Can you text me the names of the employees he upset?”
“No problem.”
“Hey, since I’ve got you on the phone… You know that file we’ve got of old security logins? Will you send me a screenshot of a few of the old ID cards?”
“Ah, yeah.”
“Thanks.” She knew he was curious why but she definitely wasn’t going to tell him. “And keep this between us.”
“No problem. I’m on break in a few minutes so I’ll send the info then.”
“Thanks.” She had the ability to reactivate old ID logins using one of the security guys’ passwords and credentials. Which she’d learned by accident. She felt like a jerk for using someone else’s login, but Miller was on vacation right now so it was a perfect time.
She rarely worked from home, but with this info she had the capability to log in to the security panel—on a limited basis. But she would have enough access to the old security feeds, which was what she wanted. She could of course do it using her own login, but she didn’t want this traced back to her. And since Miller was on vacation, he wouldn’t get in trouble if anyone found out about this. Not that they should regardless. The only reason anyone should notice this was if they were watching this particular employee. Since she didn’t trust that her uncle or security wasn’t watching her, this was how it needed to play out.
Once she’d plugged in the right information, she started running various searches including ones using her uncle’s face. But also of her uncle and Atkins, as well as others. Maybe she’d come up with nothing, but maybe she’d come up with something the Feds could use. At this point, she was willing to try anything. Because it wasn’t as if she had access to her uncle’s financials or…anything. This hotel was the only thing she could look into.
At the sound of her front door opening, she paused until she heard, “Lucy, it’s me.”
Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of Leighton’s voice. Which was ridiculous, but there it was. After last night, and this morning, she was seriously hooked on this man.
Whether or not that was wise was a whole other issue. “I’m in my room.” A place he was now very acquainted with. After the shower this morning, they’d sort of rested before jumping each other again. Twice. Sex was probably the best distraction from all the other insanity in her head right now. It was taking all her control not to go see her uncle, to confront him right now.
But that would be stupid and accomplish nothing. Well, nothing other than putting herself in danger. No, he was going to pay for what he’d done. She had some dark thoughts about how she would accomplish that, but she was pushing those down. Because killing him, hurting him physically? No. He needed to go to jail for all his crimes. He needed to be locked away in a cage forever. That would be a better punishment for him than a simple death.
Leighton strode in carrying a small white bag. Whatever was in it smelled delicious. “Is that for me?” she asked, moving her laptop to the side. The programs were already running and would dump the files into a folder in the cloud when finished.
He leaned against the doorframe, his half-smile wicked as he seemed to drink her in with that hungry gaze. “Maybe.”
She pushed up on her knees. “What’s inside?”
He opened it and peered inside as if he didn’t know exactly what was in there. The scent was stronger now so it must be really fresh. “A piece of blackberry-orange cake, an assortment of mini muffins—just out of the oven—and some bite-sized apple pie things.”
Her stomach rumbled at the thought of all of it. “Not the healthiest dinner, but I’ll take it.”
“Oh, will you?”
She narrowed her gaze. “You just brought food here to tease me with?”
“Oh, I plan to tease you…” Frowning at his ringtone, he pulled his cell phone out, then let out a short curse. “I’ve got to take this,” he murmured, holding out the bag. “Save some for me.”
“No promises.” She plucked the bag from him as he took the call, leaving him in her room.
Heading for the kitchen, she decided to make coffee to go with the pastries. He kept his voice low as she walked away so she wasn’t sure who he was talking to.
But something told her his conversation had to do with her uncle.
* * *
“What’s up?” Leighton had just checked in with the team less than ten minutes ago when he’d been out grabbing food for Lucy and him. He’d been careful to leave out a side exit and, thanks to Gage, had been able to avoid security cameras.
“The tracker is finally on the move,” Gage said. “And Colt and Skye are already tailing Leroux.”
The smuggler they’d seen talking to Broussard. “Where’s it headed?”
“Not sure yet. Looks as if it could be the Garden District. Which isn’t too far from where Maria thought they might have been held. We’re en route.”
“Who’s we?”
“Me, Axel and Savage. Brooks is hanging back in case shit goes sideways.”
Yeah, Leighton understood that. They didn’t need to accidentally show their hand and have Brooks show up on Kuznetsov’s radar. And three guys wasn’t enough, especially if this was a trap. He didn’t think Lucy would set them up, but he wanted to be there. “I’m in.”
“I’ll send the coordinates to your phone. You can follow the tracker live, the same as us. You got your gear with you?”
“Yeah.” He looked up as Lucy entered her room, watching him closely. He tried not to think about her, about what they’d done just hours ago on the bed he was standing next to. “I’ll be on my way in two minutes.”
She frowned as he hung up. “You’re leaving?”
“Yeah.” He paused for a moment, wondering how much he should tell her. Screw it. “The tracker you planted on Marco is on the move.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “That’s great.”
“Yeah, which means I’ve got to head out.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked, falling in step with him as he headed for her front door. His op bag was waiting in the untraceable SUV he’d parked a few blocks over in a paid parking lot. He had enough gear and weapons for himself—and a team.
“Not sure yet. Follow it and see if the women are being held wherever the tracker stops.”
“I’m going with you.” Lucy grabbed her black peacoat and started buttoning it up as she reached for a dark pair of sneakers sitting next to five-inch heels by her front door.
“No, you’re not. You’re not trained, you’re not—”
“I don’t mean I’m going to infiltrate or whatever with you, but I’m freaking going. I can wait in the car. Try and stop me.” Shoes on, she stood, her expression defiant.
Fuck. He shouldn’t bring her. He definitely, definitely shouldn’t. But he’d seen that program she’d been running on her computer in her room, and was pretty certain she’d made herself a damn target if her uncle was keeping tabs on her. He couldn’t leave her alone. “You stay in the vehicle,” he said, his tone more forceful than he’d ever used with her. But he didn’t care. “Your safety comes first. You don’t get out for anything.”
Wide eyed, she simply nodded.
“We’ll have to do something about covering your hair too. You can’t look like you,” he muttered more to himself before he leaned down and kissed her. Hard.
She leaned into him automatically, grabbing the collar of his shirt as she held him close. The kiss was over way too soon, but there was no time for anything else.
“You can drive,” he said as they hurried down the hallway. She was a hell of a lot more familiar with the city and he’d be able to gear up on the way.
“The elevator is that way,” she said, frowning, even as she kept up with him.
“We’re taking the stairs. There’s an exit we can use where you won’t be seen, and I don’t want a record of you leaving with me. You can’t be seen with me.”
Her expression solemn, she nodded. “I didn’t even think of that.”
Yeah, because this wasn’t her world. And he hated that she’d been dragged into it. But there was no going back now. “You’re also going to tell me what the hell kind of program you’re running on your computer.”
Her gaze narrowed again as they raced down the stairs. “Your tone is awful bossy right now.”
“Sorry,” he muttered. “I’d like it if you would tell me. I don’t want you painting a target on your back.”
“I don’t even care anymore. I want to bring him down. I want him in jail. For the rest of his life.”
There was no need to say his name. Leighton knew exactly who she meant and agreed. Though he’d be fine if the man was dead. Hell, maybe dead would be better. Then he wouldn’t be a threat to anyone ever again.