Mission, p.9
Mission, page 9
Sten’s mouth hung open, not literally, but she read the way his eyes widened and the subtle shake of his head. He thought she was certifiable, like crazy out of her mind. But what choice did she have?
“You’ll appreciate the irony. Charles gave me this Tiffany necklace as a pledge.” She pulled the intricate necklace with a solid rose-gold ball and locket on a gold rope from beneath her sweater.
Izzy was too embarrassed to tell Sten, on a soldier’s pay, that the necklace cost close to $15,000. “Charles gave it to me as a pledge to his fidelity—that I was his ball and chain. I was to wear it as a promise of marriage in the future.” Izzy twisted the necklace, trying to suppress the shame from the memory of her adoration of Charles at the time. “And I’ve got plans for his future. I’ve inserted a micro-recorder into the ball.”
Izzy again forced down the embarrassment that she had believed the lying, three-faced bastard. The Jenkins brothers constant cursing was influencing her.
“And then what? You think he’ll let you go free?”
“I’m not that naïve. I planned to have the recording stream live to Reeves.” Not that she had asked Reeves yet. “Charles isn’t a big enough idiot to kill me once he realizes I’ve trapped him.”
“No, he’ll torture you to tell him Reeves’s name. And then he’ll come after Reeves. And FYI, Worthy has enough skills to remove the recording.”
Could Izzy faint while sitting down because right now all the blood in her head was gone.
“But once Reeves has the recording, he’ll send it to Cyber Command. There won’t be anything for Charles to do to Reeves.”
“But what about what he does to you?”
In the weeks since she fled NYC, she’d shut down the fear into a tight ball that sat below her lungs. The “can’t breathe panic” erupted in the middle of the night when her unconscious mind couldn’t contain the terror. She couldn’t allow herself to think about the threat, or she’d be paralyzed with fear and Charles would win. “I just want to stop the sale. My work is designed to protect, not to hurt people. And I want Charles to be sent to jail.”
Sten reached for her hand, his thumb soothing her clenched fist. “Izzy, you have to trust me to help you.”
Izzy shook her head. “No. I don’t.”
Sten’s voice lowered into a sexy growl. “You trusted me last night.”
Blood and heat rushed to Izzy’s face. How dare he bring up another poor choice on Izzy’s “what was I thinking?” long list.
“And look how that worked out. You never said a word—” She shook her head so hard that her ponytail swung across her face. “Never mind. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a little low on trust with the male species.”
Despite her words, she did trust him. And she wasn’t going to forget Sten Jenkins or their night together as long as she lived. And, if Sten was right, her life wasn’t going to be long after confronting Charles. It beat going to prison for years…sent to a black hole, accused and convicted in the news.
Sten came around the table and pulled her to her feet. “You’ve no choice. I’m in charge.” The look he gave her was tender but, with his challenging choice of words and the tight set of his shoulders and rigid spine, telegraphed that he was a Marine on a mission. And she was his mission. “I’m going to need some time to bring the team up to speed.”
“Your brothers and everyone will know what a stupid fool I was.” Talk about a walk of shame.
“None of the men will think less of you.” He pushed her bangs away from her face. “What they will see is a brilliant young woman who was manipulated and used by a sick fucking traitor.”
“You can’t underestimate him. He’s very cunning and dangerous.”
“And you don’t think I can be cunning and dangerous?”
“No, you’re normal. He’s not.”
Sten had the nerve to laugh. “I think that’s a compliment.”
“I don’t want you or your team at risk.” Izzy added his team so he wouldn’t guess that she cared a great deal about Sten Jenkins from the first moment she watched him play with the young boy. Underneath his hot macho attitude was a tender and gentle man.
“Honey, it’s what we live to do. We thrive on danger. The higher the risk, the better.” He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight against his hard chest. His heat and scent enveloped her in a cocoon of safety. “And FYI—last night was better than any of the wildest fantasies I’ve had about you.”
Izzy pulled away to look at his face. She wanted to believe him. She did know he was different than Charles. But she had no experience with hook-ups and the expectations after. And she’d offered sex without any strings. “But you didn’t say anything this morning.”
“We were late for the mission I’m in charge of. And you had all the rules about it being a one-night stand and nothing more. I didn’t want to freak you out before the mission. Once Defcon was done, I planned to persuade you…for more nights.”
“You sound awfully confident.” Izzy grinned at the bright gleam in his eyes, the way he teased her ponytail, imitating her nervous tick.
“And I plan a lot of nights together when Worthy is behind bars.”
Izzy shuddered despite the heat radiating off Sten’s body and his hot hands running up and down her spine in soothing circles.
His lips brushed her sensitive neck, his sexy stubble abrading her skin, sending sensations down to her knees. “Go crash upstairs. I kept you awake all night—you must be exhausted. And once we’re ready to roll for Defcon, I’ll come for you.”
Izzy stepped away from Sten’s touch. “Promise me that you won’t interfere when I confront Charles for the recording. You understand that I need to do this.” Izzy hoped Sten, the tender lover, would understand her need to rescue herself from the nightmare as she had reclaimed her sensuality last night.
“I promise that you will be the one to confront Charles. But if the bastard touches you, all promises are off. Can you live with that?”
Izzy watched the way his full lower lip curved into a slow smile.
“I never want him to touch me…” A tremor of terror wracked her at the idea of being near Charles again.
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, fiercely and tenderly all at the same time. “I’m going to enjoy watching you trap the sick bastard. You’re one badass woman.”
And with Sten holding her, she almost believed they could succeed.
14
“Yes, sir. I’ll send for her.”
Sten shut down the live feed of General Harkness on the massive screen. He crossed the ops room, opened the door, and yelled down the hall. “Lars, get Izzy ASAP. The general wants to talk with her.”
Lars, Nick, and the rest of the team waited in the front office for Sten to finish his sitrep to his superior. General Harkness instructed Sten to summon Izzy for a face-to-face while he called Dean. The general was clear that Sten should expect to give Dean an update on Worthy.
Sten paced the giant room with walls covered in massive screens and monitors except for one side reserved for Uncle Harry’s whiteboard and the portable chalkboard, a remnant of the family’s pre-tech security business.
Sten didn’t have any way to prepare Izzy for the pain that the general was about to deliver. His throat clenched and his hands fisted. He’d rather take fire than have Izzy suffer. And how had that happened that she had become important to him?
The screen flashed. Richard Dean’s face appeared on the mega screen as his voice echoed in the room. “Tom and I agree after reviewing the information that Reeves uncovered that Worthy is lower than the scum who went after my girls. He’s an American businessman using young, talented women to sell out his country. I’ve called Jordan to reach out to Izzy.” Dean’s face and voice grew like “the great and powerful Oz” when he leaned closer to the camera.
“Use whatever means to bring this bastard down. Tom has reassured me that you have everything you need, but everything from my company is available for your use. I want to see Worthy hang.”
Those were Sten’s sentiments, too, as well as the entire team’s. Worthy had no clue who was coming after him. All because Izzy was willing to risk her life to take the son of a bitch down. Not that Sten was allowing Izzy to face the bastard alone.
“Nick is planning to take one of the DDs to Las Vegas with us in case Worthy tries to use a drone again.” Sten suppressed the urge to ask Dean how his scientist daughter would be helpful to Izzy.
“Fine. Sounds like Nick enjoyed using the DD. After this sorry mess is finished, I’d like a report from Nick on the drone’s performance. I’ve promised my feedback. And Sten, I want regular updates from Las Vegas.”
“Yes, sir.” And the screen faded.
He turned to the sound of the door opening and Izzy’s light laughter. Lars walked next to her, obviously using his Jenkins charm to help her relax. Not that any charm was going to work after what she was about to hear.
“I don’t believe you. Sten would never…”
Izzy looked up, and Sten was trapped in the amusement in her shining eyes. Her face pinked when she read his intense need for her written all over his face.
Lars pulled on Izzy’s ponytail. “I have a whole slew of stories about Sten. You know he still struggles about being the runt of the Jenkinses.”
Watching Izzy’s lips shoot up into a grin did something to Sten’s heart. He caught Lars’s nod. All the men were protective of Izzy and ready to kill Worthy. Their outrage on Izzy’s behalf had really helped him get his act together before reporting to the general on the deep shit Reeves uncovered about Worthy.
“Izzy, General Harkness would like to speak with you.” Sten gave the high sign with a slight nod for Lars to leave. “Reeves has been looking into Worthy since Emily told him of your relationship. He has discovered vital information which he’s shared with the general and with Dean.”
Watching her smile vanish and her shoulders slump hit him hard. He wanted to shelter her from taking another blow. “Come here, honey. It’s going to be okay.” Sten was about to pull Izzy into his arms when General Harkness’s face flashed on the screen.
Sten dropped his hands from Izzy. He needed to talk to Reeves about going live with no advance warning.
“General Harkness, I’d like you to meet Izzy Benson.”
With his hand on her back, Sten guided Izzy closer to the giant screen that occupied one wall. The general was intimidating in person and having his gnarly face enlarged almost to the size of half a football field was rough even for a hardened soldier like Sten. Izzy, a sensitive civilian, had to be overwhelmed.
“Miss Benson, I wish the circumstances were better for this meeting. Jenkins has brought me up to date on what Reeves has uncovered.”
Izzy inched back ever so slightly. Not that the general would notice, but Sten was attuned to her every nuance—the angle of her head, her every breath, her every blink, including how her pink complexion had now gone stark white.
“My intention was never to do anything criminal. I wanted to prove myself trustworthy by helping with this mission.”
Harkness puffed up his wide chest which took up the lower portion of the screen. “Miss Benson, I want you to listen. A traitor to his country is a despicable human being no matter who he’s related to. Have I made myself clear?”
Izzy’s head bobbed.
“I’m not scrubbing you. In fact, when this entire nasty business is over, I’d like to recruit you to CC. We do have civilians working for us.”
Izzy twisted to look to Sten for an explanation. Sten shrugged. The general, a master planner and manipulator, had made no mention to Sten about bringing Izzy onto CC.
“Are you aware of Tina McGuire?” Harkness barked at Izzy.
Izzy swallowed hard. Sten watched whatever color was left in her face drain away.
“Yes, she was accused of selling information to the Chinese about Sikorsky’s X2 technology for a prototype military helicopter.”
“Accused. But never proven guilty before she killed herself at the age of twenty-two. How old are you, Miss Benson?”
“I’m twenty-four. Almost twenty-five.” Seeing Izzy’s body tremble, Sten pulled a chair from the table.
“Izzy, sit down. The general understands how distressing this is for you.” Sten glared at his superior with no result except for the roll of his eyes upward.
“Did you know that Tina entered MIT to study physics at fourteen?”
Izzy sat and Sten couldn’t stop himself from touching her hand, offering a small comfort.
“Do you know what else you have in common with McGuire woman?”
Izzy shook her head.
“She worked at one of Worthy’s startup companies. He won the big military contract based on her graduate work in system integration for the increased stability and maneuverability of the Raider.”
Izzy gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.
Sten, no longer caring what the general witnessed, squeezed her shoulder and didn’t remove his hand. “It’s going to be hard to hear the rest of the general’s info. But I promise, we’re going to take care of it.”
“Jenkins, we’ll discuss later the scope of your behavior when you’re on a CC mission. Is that understood?”
“Understood, sir. Loud and clear. But there is no need to draw this out.”
“You’re awfully sure of yourself with Dean as your ally.”
“No, sir. I’ve never relied on my association with Richard Dean for any of my success in my military career.”
Izzy grabbed Sten’s hand. “Don’t get into trouble because of me, please.”
“You’re one lucky woman, Benson. And I don’t mean because of Jenkins’s loyalty but because of the similarities with the McGuire case. CC tracked McGuire’s dealings with China, but her case never sat right with me despite that all the cyber evidence pointed to her. We never found any cause for her treason. She didn’t have any debts, no addictions, no family affiliations with other countries. She appeared to be a very well-adjusted young woman with a bright future ahead of her.”
“I remember her family and their adamant denial of her guilt.” Izzy twisted her ponytail between her fingers, biting on her lower lip. “The poor woman. No one believed her…”
“The irrefutable evidence against her was that she had a bank account in the Cayman Islands that she swore she knew nothing about. And she had a great deal of expensive jewelry which she maintained were gifts. She would never give up the name of the man who gave her the gifts, not wanting to incriminate him. She never knew that Worthy set her up.”
Izzy looked up at Sten—tears clouding her shiny emerald eyes. “Charles gave me a great deal of expensive jewelry.”
“All the communication with the buyers and sales were done from her laptop. Not wanting to face the trial, she killed herself while in custody.”
Izzy white-knuckled the sides of the chair. Her voice quivered in a whisper. “She’s dead…”
Unable to stop her pain, Sten stood by her side, trying to communicate his support. He didn’t touch her, afraid she wouldn’t welcome the touch of any man while hearing of the horrific behavior of the one she thought she loved. It had to burn that she wasn’t the only woman Worthy had targeted. Sten couldn’t wait to make the bastard suffer in revenge for Izzy and Tina McGuire’s pain.
“It was Reeves who drew the parallels to your situation with McGuire’s.” The general cleared his throat. “Benson, do you want to help me send Worthy away for the rest of his life?”
Izzy bolted upright. Her hands clenched at her sides, her chin thrust forward. “I’ll do whatever you ask, General Harkness. Not only do I want to clear my name, but I want to avenge the memory of Tina McGuire.”
“Good, good. What I was hoping you’d say. But Benson, you will be required to confront Worthy and convince him that you’re in competition unless he cuts you into the deals. Do you think you’d be able to convince him that you’re as dirty as he is?”
“Sir, this wasn’t the plan. Izzy—Miss Benson—is going to record Worthy admitting to his guilt and then my team will bring him in.”
“Make no mistake, Jenkins. I want Worthy. But we’re going to let him dangle to get his whole operation and his buyers. If we bring him in, he’ll lawyer up and we’ll never touch him. We need his buyers for the security of the country. And Benson is our ticket.”
“Sir, Izzy doesn’t have any field experience. She has no training in subterfuge. She is a mathematician…a computer scientist who doesn’t know anything about espionage.”
“Allow Benson to speak for herself, Jenkins. She was willing to meet with the sellers.”
“General Harkness, what Sten said is all true. I have no training.”
“Everyone around you has more than enough training to keep you safe. All you need is to be confident of your hacking skills and to be a fine actress. Your motives for clearing your and McGuire’s name will be a big motivation. When you look Worthy in the eyes, what will you feel knowing a woman, and there are probably more, died because of him? And he had the same planned for you?”
Izzy shuddered visibly. It took all of Sten’s military training not to shout at his commander and at the same time put his arm around her and pull her to his side.
“You realize how lucky you are to have had a connection to Dean or you might have met the same fate. Think of all the women you’ll be saving while protecting your country. You think you can see clearly enough to get the job done?”
Sten clenched his jaw and kept his mouth shut. The only reason he didn’t tell the general to go to hell for using Izzy as bait was that he’d be scrubbed from the mission. And where would that leave Izzy? He was the best to guard Izzy. But why did the general have to sound like Izzy was singlehandedly responsible to take down Worthy?
Izzy nodded. “I can convince Charles that I want to live the expensive life he exposed me to and want a place in his luxury world. I’ll use the truth that women in the field are never paid the same as men with the same abilities and that I’m tired of not making the big dollars. He knows my skills and will accept what I say is true, that I deserve the money. And since he is a sick narcissist, I don’t think he’ll have a lot of trouble believing that I would do anything for acknowledgment and money.”
