Chapter Fifteen
“Traps? What traps?” Kate stared at both men. “What are you talking about?”
Jake looked as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. “Peter would certainly want to know if anyone’s trying to dig for information on him. We know he’s a computer genius, so it’s a given he had electronic traps on the links you accessed. They alert him when anyone taps into them and sends the IPS address of the computer doing the search.”
Now her heart was doing cartwheels, but she did her best to conceal it, although her fingers du
“I don’t think I tripped anything,” she assured them, praying it was so. “I know how to build layers of anonymous servers to hide the original source before actually doing a search. I’ve done this before. I was very careful. So even if he got an alert, I’m pretty sure he couldn’t back trace to me. Anyway, I used a library computer. I could be anyone.”
“Oh, yeah?” Jake shook his head. “Exactly how many people do you think would be going to a library to look up Peter Fleming? Or that law firm, which has only one client? Think, Kate. It gives them a geographic location on you.”
“Jake’s right,” Quinn put in. “Damn it, I should have thought of that, but I just let myself get rusty. Out of the blue, in the midst of all this craziness, someone decides to do an Internet search on Peter and Burke-Fleming. You don’t think that would set off alarms somewhere?”
“And remember,” Jake added, “this is Esai’s town. Knowing this, no one would be foolhardy enough to do a search on any computer, let alone a public one.”
“Maybe they’d think it was your office,” she said almost desperately. Hopefully.
Jake shook his head. “They’d know better than that. For one thing, we wouldn’t use public computers. And it wouldn’t be anyone trying to cut into their business. They’d have other sources.” He pounded his fist on the table. “Damn it. Let’s hope they aren’t focusing they’re search on this area now.”
Kate paled. “I’m sorry. You’re right.” She looked at Quinn. “You didn’t want me to do it, and I should have listened. It was a stupid thing for me to do. I just never thought about traps or anything like that. I thought I could cover myself.”
Quinn slapped his palm on the table. “No, I’m the stupid one. I never should have let you do it. But I’ve been out of this for so long, I didn’t think about electronic traps.”
The ringing of his cell phone interrupted the tension in the air. He spoke briefly and when he hung up his face was grim. “Time to stop fooling around, Kate. That was Mike at the garage.”
“W-What about? We already junked the car.”
“Some guy came in today looking for a vehicle with your license plate number. Said he was looking for his sister, checking any place she might have had her car fixed. His family was worried about her.”
“How the hell did they find her?” Jake wanted to know. “How in the fucking hell did they figure out where she was?”
“Oh, my God.” Kate thought she would faint. She was shaking so hard Quinn had to hold onto her. “Yes, Jake. How did they get those plates? I bought it…I just…” She had to clench her teeth together to keep them from chattering.
“I’d say when they lost the trail they went back to square one in L.A. and started from there. Then someone probably had the bright idea they might have scared her enough at the bus terminal that she decided to buy another car. They know she has to hoard her money, they don’t know if she has proper identification and she needs to find someplace close. So they start looking for junk car places around the terminal, doing a block to block. And Bingo! Up pops wherever you bought the car.
“Highway Harry,” she whispered.
“Who may be riding the highway in the sky by now,” Jake pointed out. “After some physical exercise, I’m sure he was more than happy to tell his new friends anything they wanted.”
“Including the make of car he sold Kate and the license tag,” Quinn put in. “They get the cops they bought and paid for to search for it in their computers and keep an eye on the roads.”
Jake nodded. “Put that together with your trip to the library and the alerts that dinged back to Peter and there you go. They have an area to focus on.”
“But how did they get to Mike’s specifically?” She was hanging onto her control by a very thin thread. “This is a huge area to search.”
“I’m sure good old Peter called the Osuna brothers, told them he’s got a hot location on their target and everyone should get their asses out and start canvassing the San Antonio area. My guess again is by sheer dumb luck they found someone who saw your car being picked up by the tow truck. Maybe asked around in a diner or a coffee shop. Whatever. Who the hell knows? The crooks catch all the breaks.”
“W-What did Mike tell them?” she asked Quinn.
“That he found it on the highway and claimed it for salvage. But you can bet they’ll start pinpointing this area, getting everyone on their payroll to track you down. And that means we’ve got a huge problem.” He pulled Kate tight against him.
“A no brainer,” Jake agreed. “They want Kate, and they want that flash drive. So now, boys and girls, we’re done playing games. And Kate? If you’re frightened, you’ve got a right to be.”
She gripped his fingers until hers almost lost their feeling, her body trying to push itself inside his.
“What do you think?” Her voice was barely audible.
Killing her will be easy. I’ll call you when it’s done.
“I think we have to do what Jake says,” he told her, his voice low and soothing. “But we aren’t going to run around like some idiots. We’ll make preparations so we can keep you safe.” He looked at Jake. “Right?”
“Right.” He raked his fingers through his hair, a good sign of his frustration at the turn things had taken. “Listen, Kate. You say you’re willing to give that drive to Kane Barton? Now is the time to do it. We’ve got to get these guys and put them away before they really do kill you. Stopping them is the only chance you’ve got.”
He got up and went to the cupboards, took down a glass and filled it from the tap. He stood at the sink chugging it, then refilled it before he sat down again.
“Tell me what you want. Then let me talk to Dean and Kane in the morning and see what we can set up. Dean may want to call you and talk to you again himself.”
“To make sure we’re still here?” Quinn’s voice was heavy with sarcasm.
“No. Listen, Ace. I know you. You’re smart enough, now that we’ve got this information, to know this is one thing you can’t outrun. Right?”
Quinn gave him a grudging acknowledgement. “All right. And I do have a suggestion about how to do this. We obviously can’t just march her down there in broad daylight with the entire work force present and watching.”
“So what’s your idea?”
“Try this. What if we do it at night when almost everyone’s gone?” Quinn suggested. “You can sneak us in through the underground garage, like we’ve done with other people before. That way we have a contained situation, and it all but eliminates the risk.”
“But there is still some risk involved, isn’t there?” Kate asked. “Nothing is one hundred percent.”
Jake leaned across the table toward Kate, his face grim. “I can tell you one thing that’s a hundred percent. If you don’t help us tie a knot around the Osunas, these assholes will kill you deader than yesterday’s news. Look how close they are to you already.”
She felt the blood drain from her face. Even the warmth from Quinn’s body couldn’t shake the cold invading her.
“Okay.” Her voice was small and tremulous. “I’ll trust you two to take care of me. But I’m not handing over the flash drive until we get there. That’s my insurance that you’ll take care of things properly.”
“I’ll probably get my ass handed to me when I report on that, but I’d say this is the best way to play it.” He pulled out a tired smile. “You’re doing the right thing, Kate. My office could go about this a lot differently, but we’d be putting you at greater risk, and I don’t want that. I’ll call you guys first thing in the morning after we’ve got everything set up.”
He picked up his briefcase, getting ready to leave.
Quinn kissed the top of Kate’s head as he, too, rose from his chair. “I’ll just walk Jake out to his car and be right back, darlin’.”
Kate watched the two men walk out to the driveway, then began to clear away the glasses from the table. The fear she’d been able to control the past few days had erupted full blown with this latest piece of news. If she could have bolted, she would, but she had to trust Quinn on this. And Jake was right. Where could she run to now?
****
Out in the driveway the two men spoke in quiet tones.
“You know I don’t have a choice,” Jake said as they stood by his SUV. “She has to come downtown and bring that gizmo with her.”
“But her safety comes first. Just keep that in mind. Anything looks suspicious, and we’re out of there.”
“She seems to have a lot of guts. She’ll get through this, especially with you to help her. But you and she had better understand something else. When this goes to trial, she’ll probably have to testify.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, let’s get through tomorrow.”
Jake studied his friend. “She seems like a special lady, but this is a very dicey situation. And you’ve already been through one fucking tragedy.”
“I’m fine, Jake. Really. But thanks for the concern.”
“You’ve come a long way with her in a very, very short time. You sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Absolutely. And this time I don’t intend to lose what I’ve got. Once in my life is enough.”
“Okay, then. I’ve said my piece. I hope this works out.”
The men shook hands, and Quinn went back inside.
Kate was standing on the back porch, watching the moon. He moved up behind her and laid his hands gently on her shoulders.
She leaned into him. “I’m frightened, Quinn. They found my car. They traced back my Internet searches. And I’m about to walk into strange territory with men I know nothing about.”
“I’m right here with you, darlin’, and we’re going to keep it under control. I’m going to make sure of that. We’ll take all the precautions we need to. And I’ll be right beside you.” He slid his arms around her, pulling her tight against him.
I’m not going to lose another woman. I’ll do whatever it takes to prevent that.
She turned and locked her hands behind his back, pressing her cheek to his chest. “Do you realize last week we hadn’t even met? Now I feel as if we’ve known each other forever.”
“Me, too,” he answered softly. He kissed the top of her head, inhaling her scent. “We’ve lived a lifetime in a few days.” His mouth moved to the side of her neck. “I know it’s late, and we’ve got a big day tomorrow, but God, Kate. I just have to be inside you. I need to feel you around me.”
“I need that, too,” she told him.
He swept her up in his arms. “Don’t forget what I promised you for tonight.”
“Oh, yes. I remember all right. I’m not letting you forget.”
Quinn lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bedroom. He set her on her feet by the bed and began removing her clothing with as much control as he could muster. There was an urgency between them tonight that was different. More intense. More emotional. Tonight, they needed…everything.
The sight of her naked body made his cock thicken even more and his balls ache. He had never craved a woman this way, not even Lisa. Tonight, he would not allow himself to feel guilty over that. Tonight, it was all about the two of them, Kate and Quinn.
He ran his hands over her body, memorizing each curve and dip and swell. She was delicate yet strong, her breasts more than filling his palms, the curve of her ass so tempting he pulled her to him and ran his hands over them, tracing them. He swept the tips of his fingers the length of her spine, then down into that hot cleft between the cheeks of her ass.
“One of these nights I’m going to take you here,” he breathed, pressing his fingertips to her opening. “If you let me.”
She shivered beneath his touch but nodded mutely.
“But tonight you still have too many clothes on,” she pointed out. “I want to see every inch of you, too.”
He stripped and tossed his clothes to the side, her gaze on him the entire time. When he was stark naked, he reached for her, but she surprised him. Taking a step back, she dropped to her knees and wrapped the fingers of one hand around his cock. He sucked in his breath at her touch, his blood pounding in his veins.
He watched her as she slid her fingers up and down his thick shaft, hoping he had enough control to let her do what she wanted. He sensed this was not a common thing for her. Something she’d done rarely, if ever, and the emotion of it smacked him right in his heart. He called on every bit of his discipline to stand there while she stroked him.
Tightening her fingers on him, she slid the other hand between his thighs, cupping his balls and giving them a gentle squeeze.
Jesus!
She continued to glide her hand up and down his shaft, playing with his balls and driving him so crazy he was afraid he’d explode. Then she did the unexpected and took him into her mouth. He nearly detonated.
“Uh, Kate.” His brain was so fogged he didn’t know where he found words to speak. “You, uh, might want to be careful there.”
She jerked her head back, scraping her teeth on his cock, and looked up at him with a worried expression on her face.
“Am I doing it wrong? I didn’t know—I’ve never—”
Damn. He was right. She’d never done this before, and that only made him hotter.
“You’re doing it just fine, darlin’.” He swallowed. Hard. “But you’re taking me close to the edge here, and I want to be inside you when I come.”
“Oh.” She licked her lips, the sight almost putting him over the edge right then and there. “Should I stop?”
“Not yet.” He’d hold on as long as he could.
She closed her fingers around him again and swiped her tongue over the dark head, once, twice, again. She was sliding her hand up and down again when she dipped the tip of her tongue into the slit to lick the drop of fluid there, and that was it for him.
“I’d love to let you keep on, but I need to be inside you right now.” Would he ever get to a point with her where he didn’t have this acute need to sheath himself in the warmth of her sex?
In seconds, he had her on the bed on her back, legs spread and knees bent. He moved over her, positioning his hips between her widespread thighs and bending her knees to give himself greater access. His breath caught at the glisten of moisture on the lips of her sex, and he couldn’t help himself. He had to take one taste.
“Ohhhhh.” The sound whispered from her as he ran his tongue the length of her slit and back again. He wanted to spend hours just licking her and tasting her, playing with her clit and sliding his fingers in and out of her waiting channel. Maybe one of these nights he’d have enough control to do it.
But not tonight. No, not tonight. Tonight he was again like a man possessed. He placed the head of his cock at her opening, and with one swift stroke, he plunged inside her.
“Okay?” He breathed, watching her face.
Kate nodded.
“Here we go.” He moved his hips, setting up the familiar rhythm. He wanted—demanded—the steady strokes that would tip them past the flashpoint.
And then it was there, an orgasm of such gigantic proportions he wasn’t sure he’d live through it. Every muscle convulsed, her inner walls clenched and unclenched around him. Liquid poured from her, bathing him. On and on, he drove her, his thick shaft stretching her.
She reached one plane, gasping, and with a roll of his hips, he carried her with him to the next level. They were both struggling for air, his heart threatening to pound itself out of his chest. And finally, when he’d taken her over the edge twice, he carried her with him one more time as he allowed his own release.
Quinn collapsed forward, catching himself on his forearms, struggling for breath, sweat gluing their skin together. It could have been minutes, an hour, a week. He had no idea how much time had passed until he roused himself and slid carefully from her body. He rolled to the side, taking her with him, watching her closely.
“You okay?” He brushed her damp chestnut curls back from her cheeks. Her hazel eyes had tiny flecks of gold in them as she studied his face. “Everything okay?”
She huffed a little laugh, “Are you kidding? More than.”
He stroked her cheek, and his rough silk lips pressed kisses to her ear.
“You’re mine now,” he rasped. “Mine. Do not forget it.”
“Yours,” she agreed.
“I will protect you and take care of you. Count on it.” He drew in a lungful of air. “We’ll get past this and then take a look at the rest of our lives. Okay, darlin’?”
She nodded, nestling into his strength and was asleep almost before she closed her eyes.