Chapter Ten

 

Tracing the rifle found beneath the dead insurgent took less time than anyone expected. Captain Lange forwarded the information to his commanding officer who sent it on to Central Command. From there it was easy to link it to the Grainger Caldwell cargo that Rick Latrobe had baby-sat to Iraq. Which was why Charlie Grainger stormed into Dan’s office late Monday morning, his face nearly purple. Matt Caldwell, his partner, walked in silently behind him.

Charlie, built tall and thick like a football player, had a ruddy complexion and a smile that never quite reached his piercing blue eyes. His thick brown hair was worn cropped close to the head, more for ease of care than style, Dan thought. He was the front man for GC. The glad-hander. The wheeler-dealer. Matt was equally as tall but lean and his longish auburn hair was slightly graying. Matt handled everything behind the scenes, including the legal aspect and the money. While Charlie was a shouter and fist-pounder, Matt preferred to sit back and wait until everyone else had their say before bringing out the hidden verbal knife.

Which was exactly what he did now, taking one of the client chairs while his partner stomped back and forth.

“Charlie, sit down,” Dan said, making his voice as mild as possible. “You’ll have a stroke and then where will you be?”

“Out of this crap at least,” Charlie shouted. Then he took a deep breath, visibly gathered his control and dropped into a chair facing Dan. “I had two visitors this morning, Dan.”

“Oh?”

Dan waited for Charlie to get his breathing under control.

“They were from one of these government alphabet agencies, of which they have so many. They had identical suits and matching badges.”

Dan’s stomach tightened. “And what did they want?”

“They wanted to know everything about the shipment Rick took over to Iraq,” Matt said quietly. “How it was handled and what happened to it. We’d kind of like to know the same things, Dan.”

“You know what the drill was,” Dan told him. “We picked up the equipment as per your okay, loaded it onto the Hercules C-130J, flew it over to Iraq and signed it off to Greg Jordan.”

“Your man,” Matt pointed out in the same low-key voice.

“Who you also approved.”

“They want to know how such a big shipment disappeared.”

“And what did you tell them?” Dan asked, watching Charlie’s face.

“I told them they had to talk to you. And Rick. Especially Rick. That he handled the whole thing.”

“Fine. Send them along.”

“Oh, they’ll be here,” Charlie said. “No doubt about that. They could even be right on my tail.”

“Then we’ll take care of it. Just like we always do.” But Dan had a feeling this wasn’t going to be as easy to fix as things usually were.

“Where’s Latrobe?”Charlie demanded. “I want to know where you’ve got him stashed. This is his mess. He needs to clean it up now. Is he back home yet? I want to see him now.”

“You know Rick was nearly killed, right?” Dan pointed out. “He came within seconds of dying. He’s in no condition to see anyone right now.”

“He may not have a choice,” Charlie huffed. “These people don’t take no for an answer. And I want to see him myself. No more stalling. I want to know how he screwed this up, He’s costing me a fortune and now my attorney says I could be tried for treason if they can prove anything.”

“Those are the key words,” Dan pointed out. “Prove anything. And we’re a long way from that.”

“I ought to have your ass, is what I ought to do,” Grainger told him, his face still dangerously red.

“You just about have,” Dan told him. “The fact that I’m hanging on to any of our clients is no thanks to you.” He deliberately forced himself to relax. He and Charlie had been at it on some level or other ever since the debacle in Baghdad. “All right. Listen.”

“Listen?” Charlie’s voice was rising again. “Listen to what? I want Latrobe. He’s the one whose ass should be hauled in front of this committee. Not mine or Matt’s.”

“Let me get some coffee in here and we’ll take a good, long look at this.” Dan made his voice as soothing as possible. “We’re not going to leave you hanging in the wind, Charlie. We want to get to the bottom of this even more than you do.”

“Yeah? You’re not the one who’s out millions of dollars here.”

“No,” Dan said quietly. “We have something bigger to lose.”

“And what’s that?”

“Our reputations.”

* * * * *

They couldn’t keep him hidden forever, Greg reasoned. He knew Rick Latrobe too well. Sooner or later he’d force them to let him out of hiding, just as soon as he was healed enough to move around. And he was sure the man would head straight for his own house, confident he could handle whatever came at him.

His ego is really unbelievable, and that gives me an advantage.

So he’d watched and waited and tonight luck had been with him. He couldn’t believe it. He was doing his usual daily pass by Latrobe’s house, just checking for any activity, one final check for the night just in case. He wasn’t looking for the truck so he might have missed it altogether if he hadn’t recognized Troy Arsenault. But who the hell was the girl with them? And that dog. God, he’d never seen a dog like that, sniffing the air as it was led up to the front door, then turning to look in the direction where Greg was parked one block over. For one uncomfortable moment he was afraid the dog had scented him but he knew that was idiotic. He was too far away.

He picked up his camera with the long-range lens on it and snapped a succession of photos. When he left here he’d do some research. Find out who she was. From his laptop he could tap into any number of databases.

After everyone was inside, he allowed himself only one more pass by the house. Not too slowly, not enough to raise anyone’s eyebrows if someone happened to be looking out the window. No, now that he knew where Latrobe was again, he needed to get the hell out of there and make plans.

He knew Latrobe would have a high-tech security system but seeing the dog had given him an idea. If the animal was staying with him, at least twice a day they’d have to turn off the system temporarily. All he needed to do was wait for his opportunity. And find a place to watch from.

Meanwhile he needed to call Zarife and tell him he was temporarily off the hook. Once this job was done he had to get the hell out and he didn’t want to leave any dangling threads. He wondered how much trouble it would cause if he took out the engineer too. Zarife al-Dulami was a loose end he couldn’t leave dangling.

* * * * *

Rick’s bed was big and wide, with a thick mattress. Eminently more comfortable than the bed at Dogwood House.

“Plenty of room to play,” he joked, pulling her down next to him.

She winced at the sight of the puckered scars on his chest, fading but still an angry red.

“Rick.”

“Hey. Don’t wimp out on me now. I’m in much better shape than I was that first night.” He rolled until she was beneath him. “And I can take much better care of you.”

He found the spot behind her ear that was so sensitive and traced it with his tongue then licked a path down the column of her neck. Up and across her jawline. Then his mouth was on hers, hot and urgent. Hungry. Greedy. His tongue thrust inside and glided over every surface, a whisper of flame igniting every nerve.

Kelly threaded her fingers through his hair, holding his head while he fed from her mouth. His big, swollen cock pressed against her thigh, branding it with its heat and she was instantly dripping wet. She pressed herself up against him, loving the feel of his chest hair against her breasts and the muscular strength of his legs twined with hers.

He lifted his mouth from hers and placed a row of kisses down her throat to the slope of her breasts, finding her nipple and pulling one into his mouth. Electricity jolted straight to her cunt, igniting the simmering heat and desire.

He took his time with her nipples, sucking and pulling on each one, grazing them with his teeth then biting down so she rode the sharp edge of pleasure-pain.

“Rick,” she breathed, her hands stroking the hard muscles of his sleek back, her hips urging him to do more, more, more. When she tried to reach down to take him in her hand he brushed her arm away.

“This is my feast tonight,” he told her. “My bed. My rules. And I’m going to taste every inch of your body.”

He proceeded to do exactly that, sliding his mouth down to place light kisses on her tummy then shifting so he was giving attention to her ankles, her calves, the inside of her thighs. He nipped at the sensitive skin, then licked each place, soothing the tiny bite marks. She desperately wanted him to get down to business, to get to her throbbing pussy, but he seemed just as determined to torment her. Make her wait.

His thumbs pressed into the crease where hip and thigh joined, and finally, finally, she felt him press an open-mouthed kiss right there at the very center of her cunt.

Oh god!

She tried to wrap her legs around his neck to hold him in place, but he pressed them outward with his broad shoulders, keeping her exposed to his marauding mouth. That very wicked tongue licked and lapped and tasted every inch of her pussy, tracing her slit from top to bottom and back again over and over.

Inside! she wanted to shriek. I want you inside!

But he was intent on savoring her pussy, tasting every inch of it, teasing it with his tongue. Lick, lick, lick. When his mouth finally closed over her throbbing clit she bucked upwards, thrusting at his mouth. He tugged at her clit with his teeth, grazing it again and again until she couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Please,” she begged. “Please, please, please.”

“Please what?” he asked, his mouth still on her hot, wet cunt.

“Please…fuck me.”

Oh god. She’d never said that to a man before. Never used those words. But Rick Latrobe drove her into a sensual, erotic whirlpool unlike anything she’d ever experienced. And with him she apparently lost all inhibitions.

“I always oblige a lady.”

He reached into the nightstand drawer for a condom and expertly rolled it on his very erect cock. One momentary pause while he lifted her legs over his shoulders and paused at her entrance. Then he pushed inside her with one strong thrust, filling her completely.

“Oh, Jesus,” he breathed. “Oh god. I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.” He blew out a long breath. “Look at me, Kelly. Open your eyes.”

When she did she saw his blazing fiercely, locked onto hers like lasers.

And then it began. The slow ride, the slide in and out, the plunge and retreat, the incredible friction against the walls of her pussy. Everything fell away except the erotic heat that consumed her, igniting her body until she felt like one living flame.

In, out, hard, harder, fast, faster.

She locked her ankles behind his neck, pulling herself tighter against him, feeling his balls slap against her with each movement.

More, more, more, more.

Her eyes focused on him, locked onto his face.

She knew the moment his climax began to spiral through him, grip his body. And she knew he was watching her carefully for signs that she, too, was ready.

The coil unwinding inside her snapped.

“Yes,” she hissed at him.

He drove into her hard once, twice, three times, then they fell over the edge together. The shared orgasm broke over them with the force of a thunderstorm, shaking them, tossing them into space as if some giant fist had grabbed them and refused to let go. His big body tensed then shuddered, hard, again and again, as his semen filled the thin condom, the heat of it scorching her inner walls. He rolled to the side, taking her with him, still joined with her, while they struggled to breathe and even out their racing heartbeats.

When the storm finally passed, they lay spent, sweat-slicked bodies pressed together, hearts hammering, lungs dragging in air as they struggled to return their breathing to normal.

“Holy fuck,” he said when he could speak again. “Kelly, Kelly, Kelly.”

She placed a hand on his cheek, stroking the day-old stubble. “I’m here.”

“And damn well never getting away from me.” He brushed a kiss over her lips. “Holy shit, woman.”

She couldn’t help the smile. “Does that mean it was good for you?”

He looked at her for a moment before he burst out laughing. “I’d say good hardly begins to describe it. If it was any better I’d be dead.”

After a long while he eased his body from hers, padded to the bathroom to dispose of the condom, then climbed back into bed with her. She lay nestled close to Rick in his huge bed, feeling unbelievably sated and boneless. But worried now about the exertion and what he might have done to himself.

“It’s okay, Red,” he told her, sensing her feelings. “I’m not stupid enough to do myself permanent damage. Believe me. It’s all good.”His lips curved in a slow smile. “You were unbelievable. Incredible.” He lowered his voice. “Addictive. I may never be able to stop for the rest of my life.”

She gave him an answering smile. “I hope not.”

A sober expression replaced his smile. “I mean it, Red. Whatever happens with this mess we’re in, I’m never letting you go. Mark and Dan said the same thing when it happened to them. When Fate sends you someone you connect with, you don’t turn away.”

She spooned against him, head nestled on his arm. His other arm was thrown over her body, his hand cupping her breast. And that was how they fell asleep.

Despite the vertical blinds on the windows, sunlight flooding the room woke them in the morning. Rick’s hand was still covering her breast, one leg thrown over her thigh. She could feel his morning erection pressing hard against her backside.

But Xena was pushing at her hand, demanding attention to her early morning needs.

Rick groaned. “We have to teach that dog how to let herself out,” he complained. “She’s interfering with my plans.”

Kelly laughed. “We have plenty of time for your plans. Let me get her taken care of then we can shower.”

A slow grin spread over his face. “I sure do like the sound of that.”

“You have a lecherous mind,” she teased and rolled out of bed, pulling on her shirt and jeans from the day before. “Come on, Xena. It’s your turn first.”

The dog followed her down the stairs and waited while she turned off the alarm with the codes Rick had given her. But when she opened the back door Xena stopped on the porch, scenting the air. Refusing to move.

“What is it, girl? Something out there?”

Moving back just inside the doorway she scanned the yard, wishing that Rick didn’t have quite so many old, thick trees. It gave him the privacy he wanted but didn’t do much for security. She hoped his system worked as well as he promised.

At last she was able to nudge the dog into the yard. She completed her business rapidly then bounded back into the house and nudged the door closed. She whined and tossed her head until Kelly bent down and put their faces close together. At once an image flooded her mind, little more than a shadow. A man dressed in black from head to toe, something long in his hands. Then it was gone.

“Okay, okay,” Kelly said, resetting the alarm. “Let’s go tell Rick.”

“There can’t be anyone out there,” he argued. “No one can get past my system.”

“Okay,” she said with reluctance, “but I’d trust Xena over any system any day.”

He picked up the radio from the nightstand where he’d left it. “I know Alpha changed shifts at six this morning. Let’s make sure everyone’s in place.” He clicked the talk button. “Everyone report in.”

It took only seconds for the three men hidden in the area to signal their presence. Rick set the radio back down.

“Let’s shower and eat and I’ll check the tapes on the security cameras.”

Rick would have prolonged the shower if Kelly had let him but she insisted they could play later. Xena’s edginess was making her uneasy. When they dressed, they each checked their handguns again and stashed them on their bodies. Rick picked up the radio and clipped it to the waistband of his jeans.

The minute they hit the front hall downstairs, Xena pushed Rick toward the kitchen with her big body. Kelly moved to the living room window and peered between the slatted blinds but in seconds she felt Rick behind her, his hand clamped on her wrist, pulling her away.

“Someone may be out there. My partners said strange cars have been doing regular drive-by surveillance. The team didn’t report anything suspicious but it only takes a second for someone to turn onto this street and cruise by. If someone’s there you don’t want to let them see you.”

He pushed her behind him and went to take a look for himself without disturbing the slats. Xena growled louder and again pushed herself against Rick, shoving him away from the window. When Rick tried to resume his position, Xena just pushed harder.

Rick backed away from the window and Xena planted herself between Rick and the wall. He lifted the radio to his mouth and asked each team member to check in again. Two of them reported all clear.

“Strange car cruising by,” the third man reported. “I was just about to buzz you. It’s made a pass twice.”

“Can he see you?” Rick asked.

“Are you kidding? I didn’t start doing this yesterday, Rick.”

“Sorry. Okay. I’m calling the office. Stay alert.” He replaced the radio on his belt, still trying to see out the window. He slipped his cell phone out of his pocket and pressed the button that rang the Phoenix private number. Mark answered on the first ring.

“Trouble?”he asked, ignoring the amenity of a greeting.

“Maybe. Xena seems to think there is and I trust her instincts. One of the team out there reports a car cruising more than once. I don’t want them to reveal themselves yet just in case. I’m going to check the tapes.”

“Be right there.”

Rick clicked off.

Kelly picked up her rifle from the table where she’d left it, checked the load and snapped the barrel back in place.

“I hope to god we don’t need that,” Rick said.

“Better safe than sorry,” she told him.

Rick had started toward the window again and once again Xena was in his way, preventing him from moving forward.

Rick reached down and touched the dog’s head. “Okay, girl. We’ll wait.”

He led Kelly into the den where he flipped on the monitor that showed all the camera feeds and pressed rewind, then play. In a moment they saw an innocuous gray sedan passing the house, driving the posted speed limit. Two minutes passed, then the car drove by again from the opposite direction.

“Could be someone looking for a house number but I don’t think so,” Rick said. “All right. Let’s get some coffee.”

Kelly followed him into the kitchen and dug in the cupboards for coffee supplies. The drip of the coffeemaker was the only sound to break the silence.

* * * * *

When his cell phone rang Zarife looked at the number on the readout and quaked. Source unknown. That meant only one person. He pressed talk and lifted the phone to his ear.

“Yes?”

“You and your family have to be the stupidest people I have ever done business with,” the man on the other end said.

His voice was so cold, Zarife shivered. “I don’t understand. The money was in your account as promised. We took delivery as agreed. If you’re worried about Rick Latrobe, I am helping your man locate him as we speak.”

“Well, you’d better damn well find him,” the man spat, “because we’ve got bigger troubles than you can imagine. You tell your father I thought he was a careful man with brains. He’d better be glad he’s not in my sights right now.”

“Excuse me?” Zarife was shaking. What could have gone wrong? “I have no idea what you’re talking about. The raids have all gone well. Soon the entire territory will be ours again.”

“If we’re not all in prison first.”

A sudden bubble of nausea rose in Zarife’s throat. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that the last raid was not just a miserable failure. Your father and his people left one of the rifles behind and it’s been traced.”

The bubble threatened to pop. Zarife swallowed hard. “Do you mean…”

“I mean we’re in a shitload of trouble. It feels like every government agency under the sun is digging into this and men in matching black suits are asking questions we don’t want answered. Is that clear enough for you?”

Zarife felt the vise of a headache gripping his temples. This couldn’t be happening.

“Have you spoken to your father lately?” the man asked.

“Not since a week past,” Zarife told him. “In our last conversation he assured me all was well.”

“You’d better give him another call. Tell him no more raids until this blows over. If it ever does. And he and his people better figure out how to disappear from sight for a while and take all that gear with them. Do it now.”

The connection was gone. Zarife looked around him. He was in a strip mall and had found an outside bench to sit on while he took the call. People were walking past him in both directions, none of them appearing to notice him.

He would have to call his father. All their dreams were about to disappear. How could this have happened?

* * * * *

Greg Jordan lowered his binoculars and let them hang from the strap around his neck. The binocs were the most powerful he could buy and even at that distance the clarity was unbelievable.

He couldn’t believe that luck had been with him again, kind enough to provide a hiding place for him that wasn’t out in the open. If he hadn’t had to move his car so quickly… If he hadn’t nearly been hit by that other vehicle… But he had and now he was invisible as he watched the house where his quarry was sequestered. He only needed it for a short time, long enough to see who went in and out and what their pattern was, if any. He’d seen whoever it was that brought Latrobe and the girl leave, then someone let that ungodly dog out in the yard, a process they repeated in the morning. Otherwise nothing.

Okay. He needed to scope out what was at the rear of the house, because those few minutes might be his only chance to make his hit. He could do it. He’d been a sniper for many years and he hadn’t lost his edge. But he needed a place to wait unseen and an escape route.

If things went well, one more day and he’d be done. He couldn’t afford to hang around much longer. Now that Rick Latrobe was out of the hospital the man would pull out all the stops to find him and Greg could not allow that to happen. He’d be damn glad to get rid of that son of a bitch once and for all. He’d do his thing and get the hell out of Dodge.

He scanned the front of the house again, looking for any sign of activity. For a moment he thought someone was looking back at him from an upstairs window. His heart tripped a beat then settled again. He couldn’t take the chance of being spotted. But when he refocused there was no one there.

Letting himself out of the house at the side door, he made his way to his car parked two blocks over. He’d moved it every couple of hours, just in case someone was checking. He drove slowly down the street, a man in no particular hurry to any watching eyes, until he was on the street facing Latrobe’s backyard. Stopping for the briefest amount of time, he found what he was looking for, made another pass in the opposite direction, then found a new parking space. He’d catch some sleep tonight and make his plans.

Once he was back in the house, he flipped open his cell and punched in the speed dial for Zarife.

“You’re off the hook,” he told the other man. “I found him. I’ll take care of it myself.”

“We have a slight problem,” Zarife told him, his voice edged with tension.

Greg was instantly alert. “A problem? What’s that?”

But before Zarife could answer him, the phone beeped to let him know another call was coming through.

“I have to take this call,” Greg snapped. “I’ll get back to you.” He depressed the Flash button. “If you’re calling about my project I’ve got it handled.”

“Have you now,” the voice growled. “Well, it better be handled damn fast, because we have big, big trouble.”

Greg’s body tensed. “What kind of trouble?”

As the voice on the other end explained the new situation, Greg Jordan suddenly saw his dreams of retirement on a tropical island fading faster than morning clouds.

No! He was not going to let this happen. Not when he’d put up with so much crap and done what had to be done to get there.

“The media has the story,” the man said. “And government investigators are hot on everyone’s tail. We can’t allow Latrobe to talk to anyone. So far the shooting seems to have scrambled his brains. But this is a smart man. He’s going to connect the dots any minute.”

“It’ll be done tomorrow night. But you’d better have a damn plane ready to get me out of here.”

“The plane will be waiting until midnight at the place where we brought you in. After that it’s every man for himself.”

And like that the connection was gone.

He pushed the button to reconnect with Zarife.

“I know what’s happening,” he bit off. “You’d better stand by in case I need you.”

“Need me for what?” Zarife asked, his voice shaky.

“I don’t know yet. Just don’t go anywhere.”

Greg had to smother an urge to toss the phone against the wall. Instead, he forced himself to concentrate on the view of Latrobe’s house, scanning for any new activity. When he was sure he had his anger under control, he picked up the phone and punched in a number he hadn’t called for a long time.

“Me. Yeah. I need you to meet me at our usual spot and take me to your place. I need some supplies again. Mine are inaccessible at the moment. As soon as it’s dark.”

When he disconnected the call he felt better. Lying down on the living room couch, he set his watch alarm and closed his eyes.

The alarm woke him at seven and he was instantly alert. Time to get going. Quickly he let himself out of the house, keeping close to the high shrubs in the yard, walked three streets over and got in his car. Tonight he’d take care of damn Rick Latrobe and get his ass out of there. And life would be good again.

* * * * *

When Mark rang the doorbell Rick checked through the spyhole in the door, disengaged the alarm system and cracked open the door.

“Stick your hand in so Xena knows it’s you,” he told his friend. “She’ll remember the handshake and your scent from Dogwood House.”

“She won’t bite it off, will she?” Mark asked, only half joking.

“Not unless we tell her to. Come on.”

The big Ovcharka had planted herself on Rick’s feet the moment the bell had rung. Now she sniffed at the protruding hand, lifted herself up and moved to the side to let Mark enter.

“What’s going on?” he asked, raising his eyebrows at the two armed people who greeted him.

“Xena won’t let us get near the windows,” Rick told him. “Having learned what I have about her, I’d say that means danger is outside there and not too far away. The cameras show the same gray sedan that the team spotted passing by twice.”

“Let me get some more people over here before we do anything else.” Mark pulled out his cell phone and speed dialed a single number. “Scramble Gamma team. Quiet and invisible. I want to leave Alpha in place. Have them check this entire block and the ones on either side. Whatever disguise they think will work. I’ll have Rick leave the alarm off until they can search the grounds.”

“Use the power company uniforms and truck,” Rick put in. “That will allow them to go anywhere.”

Mark repeated that, then hung up.

“We have coffee,” Kelly told him. “Come on in the kitchen.”

“Good thing, I think we’ll all need it. Or something stronger.”

“You’d better explain that last remark,” Rick told him when they were seated around the table with full mugs.

Mark rubbed a hand over his chin, his eyes assessing Rick’s condition before he said anything.

“I’m fine,” Rick snapped, impatience edging his voice. He looked at Kelly. “Tell him how fine I am.”

Mark did his best to hide his smile as Kelly blushed to her hairline. “Yes. Well. Glad to hear it. You’ll need to be in shape.”

“Spit it out,” Rick commanded.

In short, clipped sentences Mark told them about Charlie Grainger and Matt Caldwell, their visit from the men in black suits and how it came about.

“You know Charlie. He’s off the charts, he’s so angry,” he related. “Dan’s doing his best to contain the situation. He and Mike are pulling out all the stops to reach their contacts and see what they can find out.”

“Has anyone managed to discover who bought the weapons?” Rick asked.“Usually that information is all over the gossip chain. The buyers are busy bragging about it. I would have expected a shipment this big to appear on the open market, piecemeal if not as a whole.”

Mark shook his head. “Nope. Not a whisper. Whoever did this had the buyer already lined up. That’s another big part of the mystery, although finding that gun has given us a clue. Remember what you said your contact told you? About a family or tribe in the northern corner of the country planning a takeover of lands they used to own?”

“Yeah but I never got a chance to talk to him again.”

“Apparently he was right. Suddenly there’s a lot of action in that area. Three towns have fallen, only we can’t get in there to find out to whom. And no one is talking. I mean no one, which is very unusual. The guards are so strong around those cities it isn’t worth the loss of life we’d incur trying to force the issue. If the coalition hadn’t made a guess as to where they’d strike next, we still might not have a clue.”

Kelly fiddled with her mug. “I don’t presume to know anything about this except what I see on television but wouldn’t this whole thing have taken a lot of planning? A lot of preparation?”

Mark nodded. “Yes, it would. And the seller would have had to have information well beforehand to select the buyer.”

“So what happens now?” Rick wanted to know.

Mark started to answer him when his phone chirped at him. “Dan,” he mouthed and listened to his partner.

“Okay,” he said at last. “I’ll take care of things on this end. Set up what you need to for tomorrow.”

“What now?” Rick wanted to know.

“The black suits have descended on Dan. He’ll keep me out of it for today so I can take care of things here but I guess tomorrow it’s my turn into the barrel.”

“What about me?”

“We have to get you out of here, despite the fact you’re the biggest piece of bait out there.”

“Negative.” Rick clenched his hand around his coffee mug. “Let’s see what the teams turn up outside here. We need to draw the shooter out and find out who’s pulling his strings.”

“This is beyond that. I never should have let you come back to this house to begin with, bait or no bait. Now we have no choice. We can’t let the feds get hold of you until we get a handle on this, so don’t argue. You, my man, are going to have to disappear.”

* * * * *

Dan stared at the two men in his office, fighting to control his rage and maintain a cold exterior.

“You’re barking up the wrong tree, gentlemen,” he told them. “Phoenix has an impeccable reputation. That’s why the government uses us on occasion. We’d never be party to something like this.”

“It takes a lot of inside information to plan something like this,” Black Suit A said in a flat monotone.

“I agree. But this isn’t where they got it from.” Dan met their stares with one of his own, equally as chilled. “May I ask what other avenues you’re investigating? Surely Phoenix isn’t the only name on your list.”

“Who and what we’re investigating isn’t up for discussion,” Black Suit B told him. “We’re here to find out the extent of your involvement. You and your partners.”

“After all,” Black Suit A pointed out, “you’re the ones who handled everything. Grainger Caldwell is a long-standing client of yours.”

“We’re in discussion with them too,” Black Suit B added.

“Oh, yes.” Dan snorted. “Charlie Grainger made me well aware of that earlier today.”

“All this publicity can’t be too good for you. I can’t imagine you like seeing your names everywhere associated with this.”

“We have nothing to hide. Nothing.”

A heavy silence wrapped itself around them as they all sat silently, gazes locked.

“We’ll want to go through all of your files,” Black Suit A said finally. “All of them.”

“Those files are confidential,” Dan told him. “You want to see them? Get a subpoena.”

“That won’t be a problem.”

“Fine. Until then, everything in this office is off-limits to you.”

“You could make this much easier on yourself if you’d just cooperate.”

Dan ground his teeth. “There’s nothing to cooperate about. Our hands are clean. Find out who bought the merchandise and who they bought it from. That’s where you’ll get your answers.”

“We want your partner,” Black Suit B said. “Eric Latrobe. It’s likely we’ll be charging him with selling those weapons and gear to the enemy.”

Dan felt the rage bubbling up inside him and used every discipline he’d ever learned to maintain control. “First of all,” he said in measured tones, “Rick Latrobe is one of the finest patriots you’ll ever meet. He served his country well in the military and continues to do so in private service. I will not allow anyone to smear his name.”

“Nice words, Mr. Romeo,” Black Suit A said. “But that’s all they are. Words. They don’t mean a damn thing in the face of the evidence.”

“And what evidence is that?” Dan demanded.

“Latrobe was the only one in control of the shipment. He advised Grainger Caldwell what to buy, approved the cargo list, personally accompanied it from here to Baghdad and saw to its offloading. He had plenty of time during his previous visits to make his contacts and arrange for this to happen.”

“And I suppose you have the money trail pinned down too,” Dan said in a sarcastic tone.

There was a heartbeat of silence. “Not yet but we expect to shortly. We’re subpoenaing all his bank accounts and tracing every transaction.”

“Listen to me, you idiots.” Dan wanted to throttle both of them. “Rick nearly died when this deal went down. Does that sound like someone who had a hand in it? No. It sounds like someone who needed to be gotten rid of.”

“Maybe the thieves had a falling-out.” The voice was thick with sarcasm. “In any event, we want him. Everything we’ve discovered leads back to him. And we want to talk to your other partners as well.”

“I’ll have the others here tomorrow. Just tell me what time. But Rick is unavailable.” He rose from his chair. “And this meeting is over. Right now we have nothing else to say to each other.”

“We can have a Department of Justice subpoena to depose him in a matter of minutes,” Black Suit A pointed out.

“You’ll have to find him to serve it.”

“I think you’re making a big mistake here, Romeo,” Black Suit B told him.

“We’ll see. Meantime, we’re done here.”

* * * * *

“But how did this happen?” Zarife asked his father yet one more time.

“Someone was careless.” The fury in the elder al-Dulami’s voice was evident. “He has paid for it, believe me.”

“I have to get out of here,” Zarife told him.“What if someone comes looking for me? What if the seller thinks this is my fault?”

“No.” The word jumped out across the connection. “That would be the worst thing for you to do.”

“Why?”

“Think about it. You just one day quit your job and disappear from sight? You don’t think that would create too many questions that we don’t want answered?”

“But—”

“But nothing. Right now our people are very loyal and are fiercely dedicated to what we’re doing. Even though we command these villages, no one has heard our name connected with any of this because no one is talking. Let’s not give them the opportunity to do so.”

“So what shall I do?”

“Go to work. Live your life until this all dies down. Then we’ll discuss the future.”

“And if they decide to question me?”

“Why would they? There’s no link to you.”

Only the man who set this up and used me as the conduit.

“You don’t know who that man is,” al-Dulami said as if reading his son’s mind. “No one will ever connect him to either of us. Go back to work, Zarife.”

But long after the call was finished, Zarife still sat on the bench, staring off into space.

* * * * *

“All clear.” Mark had just finished speaking to both the Alpha and Gamma Team leaders and taking their report.“Nobody anywhere around. At least not now.”

“You checked everywhere?” Rick asked. “All the surrounding blocks?”

“Everywhere. We even had the Dragon do a check on all your neighbors.”

“I can’t imagine any of these people mixed up in something like this,” Rick mused.

“Probably not. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t look at them.”

“Not everyone’s home right now,” Rick pointed out. “It’s a mixed community. Some of these people are at work, others out on activities or other business.”

Mark shook his head. “But the Dragon can check where they are, where they work. And we can eyeball the presence of any unwanted visitors. We found nothing. The most dangerous person around here is a dentist who gambles but not enough to make him vulnerable to something like this.”

Kelly looked at Xena who was pacing from room to room, nose raised in the air, that low rumble echoing in her throat. “Xena’s not satisfied,” she pointed out.

There is still danger.

The dog’s voice snapped into her brain.

We can’t find anything. Two teams of men searched everywhere.

He’s there. The shadow man. He’ll strike when you least expect him to. Do not let Rick near the doors or windows. Close your eyes and see what I see.

Kelly obediently closed her eyes and instantly the image of the shadowy figure in black popped into her brain. He was still holding something long and narrow, his face turned away from her. Then a spark, like a roman candle and he disappeared.

The shooter is coming, right?

Get Rick away from here.

Xena lifted her head to look Kelly in the eye, then padded over to drink from the bowl of water they’d set out for her.

“What?” Rick asked, his eyes on her face.

“Xena says we have to get you out of here, so you have to do what Dan wants.”

“Remind me to give Xena a big thank you,” Mark muttered. “Okay. Here’s what we’ll do. Tonight we’re moving you out of here. When it’s dark. Meanwhile, I’m moving Alpha Team out to secure a four-block perimeter. And I think I should stay too. Inside. With both of you.”

Rick shook his head. “Not necessary. If everything outside’s been checked and you’ve got men watching, we can handle it from here.”

Still, Mark seemed reluctant to leave.

“Go on,” Rick insisted. “We’ll just wait for Xena to let us know if something’s wrong.”

Mark shrugged, then leaned down to Xena. The huge dog looked him straight in the eye. “Take good care of these people,” he said. When he looked up he shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m talking to a dog.”

Kelly laughed. “I do it all the time. And she answers me.”

As if on cue, Xena moved to the front window and the low growl rumbled from her throat again. She moved back and forth across the wide expanse of glass, nose raised as if a scent had reached her through the solid material.

“Something’s going on,” Kelly told Mark.

“If you say so. But I’m telling you, we checked everything around here. It’s hard to know who’s where in the daytime because half of these people work but we didn’t find anything unusual around the empty homes. I still think I should hang out.”

“We’re fine,” Rick insisted. “Go. Do whatever you have to.”

“We have to finalize arrangements for tonight,” Mark reminded him.“I think the cabin’s our best bet.”

“We’ll discuss it after I talk to Dan. Have him call me when you get back to the office. I don’t want to interrupt his warm conversations with the alphabet agents.”

Mark made a disgusted sound. “Jerks. Okay. I’ll check in with you later.”

* * * * *

They were all edgy the rest of the day. After another short trip to the backyard, Xena paced the first floor from front to back, refusing to allow either Kelly or Rick near doors or windows. After Mark left, Kelly made a late breakfast which she insisted Rick eat but which she herself picked at.

Driven to try to solve the puzzle that had thrown their lives into such an upheaval, Rick pulled a pad of paper from his desk drawer in the den and, with Kelly sitting next to him and Xena pressed against them both, began to list everything he could think of relating to Iraq, Grainger Caldwell and the arms shipment.

By the time the afternoon sun had set and the darkness of night settled over them, he’d accumulated pages and pages of notes but nothing had connected in his brain. Disgusted, he threw down his pen and picked up the soft drink Kelly had brought him.

“It’s the damnedest thing,” he said. “It’s like there’s something stuck in my mind and I can’t knock it loose. Something I know but I don’t know.”He looked at Kelly. “Does that sound too weird?”

“No, not at all. It’s apparent somebody thinks you know something or they wouldn’t be trying so hard to kill you. There’s a reason they think that.” She pushed the pad of paper away from him. “Give it a rest for a while. If you try too hard you’ll block it out.”

Rick and Dan talked three times about the arrangements for leaving but after the last call everything was still unsettled.

“Get back to me when you figure it out,” Rick said before he disconnected the call and turned to Kelly. “I hate this, you know. I feel like some sniveling coward sneaking away from the scene of the action.”

“Better a sniveling coward than a dead hero. Come on. I want to let Xena out again and get her taken care of. Let’s give her a few minutes in the yard, then I’ll fix us some dinner. It’s been a long day and we haven’t eaten since breakfast. Then we’ll get ready to leave.”

They both checked their guns and Rick punched the code to turn off the alarm but Xena didn’t seem any too eager to go outside and take care of business. Instead she hung back, whining.

“Come on, girl,” Kelly coaxed. “Rick and I want to eat and you may not get another chance at this before we leave.”

Urging the dog along, she finally got her to move into the laundry room toward the back door. Again she dug in her claws.

Kelly looked at Rick who’d come up behind her. “I think there may be something out there,” she said. “You know I don’t usually have this trouble with her. She’s got all the signs of needing to take care of business but she won’t budge.”

“Let me check. Get behind me.”

“No, damn it. You’re the one they want. Let me open the door and see what’s out there.”

But Rick pushed her out of the way and reached around Xena for the doorknob. He had barely opened the door when Xena leaped in the air and knocked him down, banging his head on the floor.

“Xena. What the hell?”

At the same moment he was trying to push the huge dog off his body, he heard the soft whomp of a suppressed rifle shot and felt the whisper of air as a high-velocity bullet whizzed past him and buried itself in the wall.

“Kelly, get down,” he shouted, tugging her to the floor with him as a second bullet, lower, barely missed him.

She fell in a heap beside him, kicking the door shut with her foot.

“Are you okay? Are you hit? Kelly? Answer me, damn it.”

She gulped in a lungful of air. “I’m fine. You?”

“Okay. I’ve got to reset the alarm.”Rick managed to roll to his knees away from Xena and edge to the panel in the hall, then crawled back to her. “Keep down. I’m calling the agency. Pulling those guys from the team back was a lousy idea. Just be ready to shoot if you have to. I don’t know if we got the alarm reset in time or not.”

“Shouldn’t we move to another room?” she asked.

“No. There are no windows here for anyone to see through. Anyway, I don’t think our guard dog is going to let us move.”

He pulled out his cell phone and punched in the emergency number for Phoenix. This time it was Mike who answered.

“Get the hell over here,” Rick snapped. “Now. Use your key to get in and don’t mind the alarm. Who did you leave in charge here? I need to talk to him.”

Seconds later he had the team leader on the radio, relaying what happened and scattering the team to search the area.

Fifteen minutes later Dan and Mike came charging in, stopping short at the sight that greeted them. Kelly and Rick were backed into a corner of the laundry room where they could see the front and back doors, guns drawn, the enormous Ovcharka pinning them in place.

“Well,” Dan said. “I’d say the shit’s really hit the fan.”