Code conspiracy, p.5
Code Conspiracy, page 5
Remember why you’re here. What’s at stake.
He slammed the door behind them, and Jerrica hunched over the tub and cranked on the faucets full blast.
“You think that’s enough?” The running water almost drowned out her whisper.
“I think that’ll do it.” He lifted a framed photo of a woman in an old-time swimsuit from the wall, ran his hand along the back of it and around the edges of the frame.
As Jerrica twisted her fingers in front of her, he lifted the lid on the toilet tank and scanned the dry parts. Then he pointed to the mirrored medicine cabinet.
Jerrica swung open the door and studied the inside as if deciding which medicine to take. “I don’t see anything. You?”
“No, but we’re not talking freely outside of this room until I do a search with my cell phone.”
“Your cell phone?”
He plunged his hand into his pocket, pulled out his phone and tapped the display. “I have a program on my phone that will detect audio devices.”
“That’s handy. How come I don’t know about that?” She tipped her head back and her gaze darted to the four corners of the ceiling. “Cameras?”
“I doubt it, but I’m going to check for those, too. I’m pretty sure whoever is tracking you is more interested in what you say than what you do.”
“And who I do it with?” She pointed a finger at him.
“Me?” He swiped a hand across the back of his neck as the steam from the hot water swirled around him.
“If these people are aware that Denver’s Delta Force team members are the only ones actively working on his behalf, you can bet they know who you all are at this point.”
“You’re probably right.” He reached forward and plucked a strand of hair from Jerrica’s moist face. “Yours is exactly the kind of mind needed for this situation.”
She cocked her head. “Only for this situation?”
“Hell, I’d be happy to have you by my side in any situation, Jerrica West.” He ran his thumb along her lower lip. “I’m trying to remember if we said anything revealing out there before it dawned on me that they might have bugged the place.”
“As far as I can recall, we spent most of our time talking about olive oil.”
He snapped his fingers. “At least they’ll know they can’t get into your place again.”
“We talked about Amit, but they know more about him than we do.” She sank to the edge of the tub. “What have they done with him? If they have his phone, they must have him...or worse.”
“They’re not going to kill someone if they want to get intel from him.” He slammed a fist against his chest. “Take it from someone who knows.”
“I don’t want to hear about what you do.” She made a cross with her fingers and held it in front of her face. “But if Amit refused to give them what they wanted, refused to take them to Dreadworm, they’d have no more reason to keep him alive.”
“They would if they thought they could change his mind.” He sat down on the tub next to her and draped his arm around her shoulders as the water rose behind them. “I know it’s hard, but try not to think about Amit right now. When that guy had you cornered in the alley, he could’ve killed you with the knife, but he didn’t.”
“I should warn everyone else, send out messages. Olaf has a warning system in place and neither Amit nor I used it. We just panicked.”
“That’s understandable.” He squeezed the back of her neck, and then glanced over his shoulder. “I think we’d better turn off the water before it overflows, but until I do my search of the rest of the house, no talking about anything related to Amit or Olaf or Dreadworm.”
“Or Major Denver.” She reached around him to turn the faucet, her soft breast momentarily pressing against his arm.
Closing his eyes, he swallowed. “You’re not going to waste all that water, are you? You stay here and relax while I do my thing.”
“I’m not going to miss this search. I can help.” She flicked some water at his chest. “The tub can wait.”
Gray left the bathroom first, tapping the display on his phone to bring up the program that could detect radio waves. He headed into Jerrica’s bedroom first and waved the phone over her headboard and the framed pictures on the wall above it.
Jerrica joined him and pointed to the closet.
He shook his head. Any sound would be muffled before it reached a mic in the closet. He continued to move around her room, wielding the phone in front of him as if warding off evil spirits.
As he passed the phone in front of the second nightstand, he heard a clicking sound. He brought the phone close to his face and watched the line on the display flicker.
Jerrica tugged on his sleeve and he nodded as he crouched before the nightstand. He felt around the base of a lamp and inside the shade, his fingers stumbling across a disc stuck to the inside.
He picked it off with his fingernail and cupped it in the palm of his hand to show Jerrica. She aimed a rude gesture at the little bug, and he grinned before he strode into her bathroom and dropped it into the toilet. He flushed it down and brushed his hands together.
As Jerrica started to open her mouth, he covered it lightly with his hand and pointed at the floor. Downstairs, he found the same type of listening devices attached to a lampshade next to the sofa and on the underside of a cupboard.
Jerrica sighed as he disposed of the last bug. “Do you think that’s it?”
“I hope so. These wouldn’t be hidden inside cupboards or closets because that would reduce their efficiency. I’ll keep the program up and running on my phone, just in case, and I’ll give the spare room and bathroom a once-over before I go to bed.”
She whipped her head around. “You’re sleeping here tonight?”
“I sure as hell am not leaving you here on your own after everything that happened today, and if there are any more bugs, they’d hear me leave. That’s not happening.”
“What hotel are you staying at?” She stood at the sink and rinsed out their dishes from earlier this evening, which now seemed days ago. “Wait. Let me guess.”
He grabbed her fingers in the stream of water. “Yeah, it’s a nice place. And don’t act like you couldn’t afford to stay there with me, but tonight I’m staying with you.”
“Touché.” She wriggled her hand free from his and flicked some droplets of water at his face this time. “The bed in the second bedroom is made up. Towels in the bathroom closet, unless...”
She pushed away from the counter and grabbed a dish towel from the oven door handle. “Yeah, I’m not gonna let that warm water go to waste. I need to wash the grit from that alley off my body, anyway.”
“Toothbrush?” He tipped his head toward the hallway, reluctant to leave the small enclosure of the kitchen where he felt like he could keep Jerrica close to him.
“There should be some extras in that bathroom closet.”
“Try to relax.” He nudged Jerrica out of the kitchen and walked with her to the stairs, afraid to let her out of his sight.
She turned at the top of the stairs and held up her hand in a wave. “Thanks.”
When she disappeared into the bathroom and clicked the door shut, he rested his head against the wall for a few seconds, almost feeling the warmth course through his body as if he were slipping into the embrace of the water with Jerrica between his legs.
He tapped his jaw with his knuckles. This wasn’t the right time to rekindle a relationship with Jerrica...even if she wanted it.
Gray turned the corner into the hallway and entered the second bedroom, waving his phone in front of him. The intruders hadn’t bothered bugging this room or the bathroom. He dropped to the made-up bed, kicked off his shoes and peeled off his shirt.
He’d brush his teeth and hit the sack. The only shower he needed right now was a cold one—and he’d rather wallow in his X-rated thoughts about Jerrica for a while longer.
A half hour later, Gray crawled between the sheets, running his tongue along his minty teeth, and pulled the covers up to his chin. When he’d gotten the message from Denver about contacting Jerrica West to ask for Dreadworm’s help, he hadn’t hesitated for a second. How much of that was due to his desire to clear his commander’s name and how much was his desire to see Jerrica again, he didn’t know and he didn’t want to analyze. He’d call it a draw.
A muffled buzzing noise interrupted his hazy thoughts and he bolted upright in the bed. He cocked his head, and as the sound continued, he threw back the covers, grabbed his weapon from the nightstand and bounded across the room.
He stumbled into the hallway, and Jerrica called from the bathroom upstairs.
“It’s the door to the building. Don’t let anyone in.”
As if he needed her to tell him that. He crept toward the computer display Jerrica had set up in her entryway, his gun dangling at his side, and swiped the mouse.
Hurried footsteps padded down the stairs and Gray looked over his shoulder to take in Jerrica flying down the steps, a white towel wrapped around her slim frame.
He turned back to the display and the image of the street, and the front of the building appeared on the screen...along with a tall figure bent over at the waist, his face hidden.
Gray mumbled. “C’mon buddy. Show yourself.”
As Jerrica joined him, her hand resting on his shoulder, the man at the door dropped his head back and peered at the camera, his swollen face distorted and bloodied.
Jerrica dug her fingers into Gray’s flesh. “Oh my God. It’s Amit.”
Chapter Five
Adrenaline pumped through Jerrica’s body, and she reached over Gray’s shoulder for the release button to unlock the door.
Before she got midway there, Gray snatched her hand. “Wait.”
“Wait for what?” She clutched at the slipping towel with her other hand. “Can’t you see him? He’s been beaten. He needs our help.”
“We don’t know what they’ve done to him, Jerrica. It might be a trick. They probably followed him.” Gray’s jaw hardened and she recognized the look.
She dug her heels into the floor as her fist curled around the terry cloth under her arms, holding the towel in place. “What does it matter? They already know where I live. They’ve been inside, planted bugs.”
“They might’ve armed him with something. Maybe he’s wearing a wire.”
She twisted her fingers in his grasp, which he tightened. “They already tried that, and we disrupted their plan. We’ll do it again, even if Amit is wired. He’s not going to turn on me, anyway.”
“You don’t know that. You don’t know what they’re capable of doing to make people bend to their will.” A muscle twitched at the corner of Gray’s mouth, and the tension radiated off his body.
“I know my...friend’s in the street, battered and bloody, and he came to me for help—and you always called me the cold one.” Maybe she’d never considered Amit a friend before, but they were in this together now. She released the hold on her towel and slammed her thumb against the button to unlock the front door. She leaned toward the speaker. “Come up, Amit...and hurry.”
When she’d let go of the towel, it had fallen to her feet, and goosebumps raced across her naked body.
“Stubborn woman.” Gray swept her towel from the floor and bunched it against her midsection. “Stay here. The guy can’t even make it up the first flight of stairs by himself.”
She shook out the towel and twisted it around her body, securing a corner. “A-are you going to help him?”
“Yeah.” He leveled a finger at her, nearly touching it to her nose. “Watch the display and make sure nobody slips in behind him or tries to ambush us on our way up.”
She nodded as Gray gripped his weapon in front of him and lunged past her to the front door, his boxers hanging on his hips. He slammed the door behind him.
Jerrica’s nose stung as she watched Amit sag against the door. He’d been capable of just enough steps to get him inside the building, but he hadn’t moved since.
Her heart slammed against her chest as a dark figure moved into view. When she realized it was Gray, she gulped in some air to steady her breathing.
Amit had Gray by a few inches in height, but Gray had the muscle and he used it to good effect as he hitched Amit’s arm around his shoulders and wrapped his own arm around Amit’s body. He half-dragged, half-carried Amit toward the stairs.
Jerrica’s eyes burned as she watched the display for any unusual movement behind them or further attempts to breach the front door. When she heard their thumping and bumbling footsteps in the hallway, she peeled her gaze away from the monitor and clawed at the locks on her door.
She swung it wide and gasped as Gray dragged an unconscious Amit into her apartment. “What happened? Why did he pass out? Is he still alive?”
“He’s alive. He lost some blood.” He settled Amit onto the floor. “Get some towels—wet and dry. Ice. Whiskey.”
Jerrica scurried to the closet in the downstairs bathroom and snatched several hand towels from the shelf. She filled her arms with some first aid supplies and dumped everything next to Gray, crouching beside Amit. Then she bunched one of the towels in her hand and made for the kitchen where she left it under the faucet as she filled a plastic bag with ice and grabbed a bottle of tequila from the cupboard above the fridge.
She dropped to the floor next to Gray, his fingers resting against Amit’s pulse, and dabbed his facial wounds with the damp towel. As she wiped away the blood, she blew out a breath.
“It looks worse than it is.”
“Stanch the blood flow from the back of his head. That’s the deepest cut, the one that’s bleeding the most.” Gray raised Amit’s eyelids with his thumb. “We could take him to the emergency room.”
“No.” Jerrica pressed a dry towel against the wound on Amit’s head and unbuttoned his shirt with trembling fingers. “That would bring cops and questions. Dreadworm has strict protocol about that. Amit knows.”
“If he doesn’t respond soon, we have no choice. I’m not going to sit here and watch someone die. What’s Dreadworm’s protocol on that?”
She ran her hands across Amit’s chest and around his back. “No wires. He’s not hooked up.”
Gray raised an eyebrow. “Any wounds on his body?”
“None of those, either.” Heat suffused her cheeks. “You’re the one who warned me about wires.”
“Relax. I know.” He traced some red spots splotched across Amit’s chest and abdomen. “Looks like he took a beating to the midsection.”
“At least they used fists instead of knives.” She replaced the cloth at the back of Amit’s head.
“Check his pockets, too.” Gray picked up the bottle of booze. “Tequila?”
“I don’t drink whiskey. That tequila is the closest thing I have. If you want to clean his wounds, I have antiseptic for that.” She shoved one of her hands in the front pocket of Amit’s jeans.
“I wanted to try to give him a sip to see if it revives him. Tequila might work.” He unscrewed the lid from the bottle and tipped it toward Amit’s lips. The clear liquid ran down the side of his face to his neck. “Guess not.”
Jerrica dumped the coins she’d dug out of Amit’s pocket onto the floor and searched the other one. She held up a scrap of paper. “Just an old receipt.”
“Check his back pockets for a wallet.” Gray hoisted Amit into a sitting position, placing his back against the foot of the couch. “I’m going to try to wake him up.”
Reaching beneath his body, Jerrica patted Amit’s back pockets. “Nothing.”
“Amit! Wake up.” Gray took Amit’s jaw between his thumb and forefinger and squeezed as he shook his head back and forth. “Wake up.”
“More tequila?” Jerrica doused the corner of a towel with the alcohol and squeezed a few drops into his mouth while Gray pinched it open.
Amit’s dark lashes fluttered, and Jerrica patted him on the cheek. “Amit! It’s Jerrica.”
He groaned and turned his head to the side to escape Gray’s fierce grip.
“Lighten up.” She circled her fingers around Gray’s wrist. “He’s bruised enough.”
“I want him conscious.” Gray grabbed the bag of ice and applied it to the side of Amit’s head.
Amit’s eyes flew open and he gasped, as if sucking in air after a near drowning. His eyeballs rolled back in his head for a second and then he focused on her face. “Jerrica?”
“Thank God.” She grabbed one of his thin hands and chafed it between her own, even though he wasn’t cold in the least. “What do you need?”
Amit sucked in a breath and squeezed his eyes closed. “Everything hurts. Where am I?”
“You’re at my place.” She exchanged a quick look with Gray. “Do you remember coming here?”
“Yeah.” His hazy gaze wandered to Gray. “Who...?”
“He’s a friend. He’s going to help us. Can you tell me what happened tonight? When we got to the coffeehouse, you were gone.”
Amit’s head dropped back against the sofa, as he clutched his middle.
“Let’s help him onto the bed.” Gray rose to his haunches and curled an arm beneath Amit. “Can you get up?”
Amit staggered to his feet with Gray’s help, and walked on wobbly legs to the bedroom. “Kelly. I have to call Kelly.”
“We’ll make sure she knows you’re okay.” Jerrica squeezed past the two men into the spare bedroom where the covers were still turned down after Gray’s quick exit from the bed. She bunched the pillows against the headboard and patted the mattress. “Put him here.”
