Protected, p.11
Protected, page 11
part #1 of Holt Agency, Book Three Series
She wrapped her arms around him too. She couldn’t stop herself. He smelled so good and his hands felt so nice on her back. She loved the way his nose rubbed against her neck behind her ear.
After a few moments, she eased out of his embrace. “You should go,” she told the floor.
She could hear him swallow.
Another hesitation, and then he stepped out the door.
She watched him walk toward his car but closed and locked the door before he turned around.
She felt heavy as she headed back toward the kitchen. She should probably eat something, but there was no way she could swallow. She was empty. Bereft. Lost.
It was too quiet in her townhouse. And too clean. Nothing was out of place.
Her phone buzzed somewhere in her purse, and she closed the distance to extricate it. The text was from Holden.
Set the alarm, babe.
Oh, shit. Right. She reached for the panel and went through the motions. All the while, she held the phone against her chest as if he were in it. She could hear his voice calling her babe.
She padded absently toward the stairs and up to her bedroom. She didn’t even glance in her office where she knew the boxes of her broken belongings resided. That project could wait. Indefinitely.
She climbed onto her bed, curled up in a ball, and let the tears fall. She refused to give in to the desire to ugly cry. A loud giant sobbing fest would change nothing. She permitted silent tears and fell asleep.
Chapter 13
“Time’s up, asshole.”
“Don’t be a dick. I’ve got it all arranged. I’ll have the jump drive in my hands by this evening.”
“No. You won’t.”
“Yes. I will. It’s done. I swear.”
“My boss is done waiting. You’ve missed your chance to fix this. It’s over.”
“It’s not. It can’t be. If you cut me out now, you’ll never get the information. You don’t have a choice but to wait. Tell your boss I said that.”
The insistent ringing of the doorbell yanked Melanie from sleep. She recognized the sound, but it took her a moment to pull out of her foggy state and fully process it.
She groaned as she pushed to sitting. Who would be at the door? Not likely anyone she knew since her friends would call or text first. Probably a salesperson.
Just as she flopped onto her back, it rang again. Twice. “Shit,” she muttered. Some people were so persistent. But what if it were Callie or even Holden returning? Maybe he forgot something.
Melanie didn’t know how long she’d been asleep, but as she picked up her phone she noticed there were no new texts or voicemails. In addition, she’d only been resting for less than an hour.
She slid off the side of the bed and rubbed her temples as she headed downstairs. She hadn’t even removed her shoes when she’d fallen asleep.
She could see through the tempered glass next to the front door that a man stood there, but it wasn’t until she looked through the peephole that she realized she didn’t know him.
“Ms. Hurn?”
She sucked in a breath. Should she answer?
“I’m with the FBI, ma’am.”
The FBI? She knew they were involved in her case because Larson was in contact with them. He’d been meeting an agent this afternoon. Maybe they needed some more information.
She stepped closer to the door. “Do you have ID?”
“Of course.” He held out his badge, letting her look at it through the peephole. It looked legit.
She tried to shake off her unease. After everything she’d been through this week, she felt mistrustful.
“My name is Agent Trent Faust. I met with Larson Aldrich earlier. He told me you would be back at home today so I could ask you some questions.”
Melanie blew out a relieved breath, unlocked the door, and opened it. Immediately the alarm started beeping. “Shit. Just a second.” She reached for the panel next to the front door and disarmed it. “Ugh. Sorry. I just got this alarm. I’m not used to disarming it.”
Agent Faust nodded as he stepped inside. “Understandable. You can’t be too careful. From what I’ve heard about your week, an alarm seems like a good idea.”
Mel shut the door and followed him as he entered her living room. “Please, have a seat. I’m not sure how I can help at this point. Surely Larson has told you everything I know, but I’ll try.”
Agent Faust wandered around the room, seeming to take in her home, not yet meeting her gaze.
Mel sat on the sofa, spine rigid. She felt wobbly from not eating enough today and being emotionally drained.
Finally, Agent Faust turned around. He smiled and held her gaze for several moments.
Something felt off. She couldn’t shake it. She felt like she’d seen him before. That wasn’t likely.
“Would you mind if I take a look at your laptop. I understand Larson wiped it clean for you, but I’d like to make sure.”
“Oh. Of course.” She stood, wiping her hands on her thighs. She had no reason to doubt this FBI agent. “It’s in the kitchen.” She nodded in that direction.
The agent followed her and took a seat at her kitchen table as she pulled the laptop out of her backpack and then the case. She hadn’t made it any farther into the house when she’d arrived.
Agent Faust opened the laptop and angled it toward her so she could enter her passcode. As soon as he spun it back in front of him, he started clicking away.
Mel lowered onto one of the other chairs and watched him, sitting stiffly. She wished she’d at least called Holden or Grant before she’d let this man into her home. Maybe she shouldn’t be answering questions without a lawyer present or something.
She’d left her cell phone upstairs though. It would be rude to go retrieve it. So she sat still and waited.
His brow was furrowed and his face grew tighter. “Looks like Larson is an expert. Not a single trace of the downloaded information.”
“Yeah. That’s what I hear. I don’t think he’d be working for the Holt Agency as their computer guy if he didn’t know what he was doing,” she yammered nervously.
“Did you make any copies of the encrypted information?”
She shook her head. “No. As soon as I saw that I’d had the wrong drive, I passed the computer off to the Holt Agency. All I saw were numbers and weird characters.”
It occurred to her that the FBI might want to make sure she didn’t know anything. Luckily, that was true. The only conversation she’d had with Holden had been when he’d told her she didn’t want to know. She was grateful now.
“That’s good. What about anyone else? Did your boyfriend make a copy by chance?”
Boyfriend? The hair on her neck stood on end. “Holden?” She immediately wished she hadn’t supplied his name. This guy was Larson’s contact with the FBI. She didn’t think Holden knew him. She shouldn’t have shared either.
Agent Faust nodded. “Yes.”
There was no reason to argue semantics. She didn’t need to get her feathers in a ruffle just because this man thought Holden and she were a couple. Hell, half of his teammates referred to her as “his woman.” Perhaps Larson had said something to that effect to this agent. “No. He’s uh… He’s not a computer guy. He didn’t touch it either. He called Larson.”
Faust nodded again. “Makes sense.”
“Do you have any questions about the break-in?” I mean, isn’t that why you’re here?
He glanced around. “Looks like you got it cleaned up pretty fast.”
“There was a team of people. If you need to see pictures, I’m sure someone has them.”
“Good.” Faust stood.
Is he done? What a weird interaction. She figured his main goal had been to make sure there was no chance any information from the secret government file was in her laptop. She was grateful he didn’t confiscate it. She didn’t have another one. Her data was all in a cloud, so she didn’t specifically need this hardware, but she didn’t have the energy to go buy another one this week either. If the FBI took it, she’d likely never see it again.
She started to rise, assuming he was done, and she needed to show him to the door. But suddenly, he set a hand on her shoulder. Not gently. He was preventing her from standing.
Her heart started racing, and she twisted her neck to look back at him. “What’s wrong?” A knot formed in her throat though. Alarm bells went off in her head. Something was very, very wrong.
Agent Faust released her shoulder, but a moment later he had both her wrists in his hands, wrenching them around to the back of her slatted kitchen chair.
“Hey. What’s going on? Are you arresting me or something?” Somehow she knew that wasn’t the case. Instinct told her she was in serious trouble now. But why? Why would the FBI be involved in something so nefarious?
He chuckled sardonically. “Something like that.” He slapped a pair of handcuffs on her, threading them through the rung in the back of the chair first. It all happened so fast, and she was no match for his strength.
“What are you doing?” Her voice was weak. Fear climbed up her spine.
“I need that fucking jump drive, bitch.” His total change in demeanor made her blood run cold.
“I don’t have it.”
“I’m aware of that. But I bet your man will be perfectly willing to trade it for your life.”
She gasped. A million thoughts went through her head. “Didn’t you just meet with Larson before you came here? He was going to give you the drive.”
“Yeah, well, that didn’t happen.”
“Why?” Her ears were ringing now. The cuffs were tight and digging into her wrists too. She was a bit too small to have her arms wrenched behind her on this chair. Her shoulders ached already.
Agent Faust yanked the chair out farther from the table and squatted in front of her. He pulled rope out his jacket pocket, grabbed her ankle, and started to tie it to the leg of the chair.
Her panic grew. She wasn’t under arrest. Something was terribly wrong. Clearly this FBI agent had made a deal with the devil and gone rogue. Whatever was on that drive, he apparently sold it to the Chinese. Either that or he was the middleman who needed to accomplish his task.
Mel kicked her feet out, trying to avoid his intent. “You don’t need to do that. I’m not going anywhere. I’m certain Larson will bring you the disk. He already said he would. Call him. Tell him to bring it here.”
She was trying to remain calm. Think. Do whatever it takes to get out of this alive. Professor Yang had not managed to accomplish as much. Melanie didn’t intend to end up like him.
Faust grabbed her ankle and yanked it hard. He slammed it painfully into the leg of the chair, making her cry out in pain.
“Sit still, bitch.”
She continued to struggle even though she knew she was going to lose this battle. She needed to keep her wits so she didn’t also lose the war. Breathing heavily, she stopped fighting him and let him secure her ankles to the chair.
Hopelessness crept into her. Would he let her live? After all, she’d seen his face. And… Wait.
All the blood ran from her face when she realized this wasn’t the first time she’d seen him. Fuck. Suddenly, she remembered. “You were at the café with Professor Yang the other day when I arrived.”
He grinned as he finished securing her second ankle and rose. “Man, am I glad you didn’t remember that before you let me into the house.” He chuckled, sending a chill down her spine.
“What happened to Larson? Why didn’t he meet with you?” She prayed Larson wasn’t dead. But that made no sense. If this guy wanted the jump drive so badly, why not just meet Larson, get it, and take off?
He laughed again. “So smart and yet so dumb.”
Her face heated. “Fuck you.”
He laughed harder. “If you’d like, we could do that too while we wait.”
A new wave of fear consumed her. Would he rape her?
“We’ll see if we have enough time. You’re a feisty one. I wouldn’t mind a romp in the hay with you. I bet you give amazing head. We can ask Holden when we call him. Where’s your phone?”
She swallowed hard. Something still didn’t add up. “Why do you need my phone?” she murmured. “Don’t you have all the numbers you need? Call Larson.”
He rolled his eyes and laughed some more. It was infuriating. He even patted her face a bit too roughly. “You’re so fucking naïve.” He leaned in so close she could smell his breath. The scent of coffee overwhelmed her. Stale as if the only thing he’d had today was six cups of coffee.
“I’m going to ask one more time. Where is your fucking phone?”
Chapter 14
Holden’s phone rang through the Bluetooth in his car, and he answered it without looking at the caller ID.
“Holden? You still at Melanie’s?” Larson’s voice sounded short, harsh, anxious.
“No. Why?”
“Turn around right now. How long ago did you leave?”
“Half an hour. What the fuck is going on?”
“My contact didn’t show up.”
“Your FBI agent?” he asked, trying to process Larson’s words while he put his foot on the gas and swerved to get off the highway at the next exit, barely making it.
“Yes. He didn’t show. I have a bad feeling in my gut.”
Another call came in.
Holden glanced at his phone on the docking station as he maneuvered through traffic to get back on the highway in the other direction. “Ajax is calling.”
“Get it. Call me back. I’m heading to Melanie’s, but you’ll get there before me.”
Holden hit the button on his steering wheel to accept the next incoming call.
Ajax started speaking the moment the connection was made. “Where are you?” he shouted.
“On the highway. Larson just called two seconds ago and told me his contact didn’t show up at the rendezvous point. He was worried. I’m heading back to Melanie’s.”
“How far away are you?”
“Thirty minutes.” Holden gripped the steering wheel tighter and glanced at the phone as if it could provide more information faster than the voice inside it. “What the fuck is going on?”
“They’ve got her, Holden. I’m sorry, man.”
Holden sucked in a breath and held it. He had to focus or he was going to run off the road or hit someone. He had a million questions, but he knew Ajax would answer everything he could. Holden just needed to listen.
“She let a man into her house about five minutes ago. I’m watching him on the surveillance camera as we speak.”
“Who? What man?”
“I don’t know. I backed up the tape to watch her interaction as soon as the alarm was triggered.”
“The alarm went off?”
“Innocent enough. It’s new. She opened the door without disarming it. Happens to everyone when they first get a new alarm. She immediately turned it off though and let the man wander into her home. Whoever he is, he somehow convinced her he was no harm.”
“Why the fuck would she let someone into her house?” Holden shouted. Yeah, maybe he wasn’t going to be able to hold back his questions.
“I don’t know. I’m watching it again now. I don’t have audio, but it looks like she did hesitate for a while. She spoke to him through the door. She used the peephole. Hold on… Okay, he’s too close to the door for the outside camera to pick up the specifics, but I’m betting he held up some sort of credentials.”
“He’s probably the mother-fucking FBI agent.” That was the only explanation Holden could come up with. She wasn’t stupid. She wouldn’t let a stranger in. Not today of all days.
“I don’t know, Holden. I don’t recognize this man. I’m getting word to Larson now to see if he recognizes the guy.”
“Something doesn’t add up. Why would the FBI agent fail to show up to meet with Larson but head to Melanie’s house instead?”
There were a few moments of silence that seemed like an hour. “Ajax, talk to me.”
“Hang on one sec…” Ajax definitely hit the mute button because Holden couldn’t hear anything.
He gritted his teeth and drove faster, praying no cop tried to pull him over. He didn’t have time to stop and explain himself. “Come on. Come on. Come on.” He wasn’t sure who he was talking to, the cars in front of him or the missing Ajax.
“’K, I’m back,” Ajax finally said. “Holden, I need you to be safe. Where are you?”
“Still on the fucking highway, man. Where do you think I’d be?”
“I hesitate to talk to you while you’re driving. I know you. You’re probably going eighty. I don’t want you or anyone else on the road to get in an accident.”
“Man, you are one of the best friends I have in life, but if you don’t fucking say what you have to say right now, I’m going to die of a coronary anyway. Spit it out.”
Ajax sighed. He was probably pacing his office back in Indiana. “Larson doesn’t know the man in Melanie’s house. Never seen him before.”
“Okay. So what? Maybe something happened to his contact and this is another FBI agent they sent to talk to Melanie.” Holden didn’t believe a word he was saying. He knew Ajax was leaving something out.
“He’s holding her hostage, Holden.”
Those words were bone chilling. They reached into Holden’s chest and ripped out his heart. He kept his eyes on the road. He knew he needed to focus. He needed to get to her. “Tell me what you’re seeing, Ajax,” he said in the calmest voice he could muster.
“She’s cuffed to a chair in the kitchen. Her ankles are tied to the chair legs.”
Holden drew in a breath and held it, letting it out slowly. “Does he have a weapon?”
“Not visible yet.”
“Does he have a death wish?” Holden snapped.
“If he’s the guy who was supposed to pass the encrypted file off to the Chinese, he’s probably so close to dead that he’s gotten reckless. Right before he tied her up, he went through her computer. I bet he was looking to see if the data was left behind.”
