Shadow: A Linear Tactical Romantic Suspense Standalone, page 17
She couldn’t stop smiling. She flew out of her chair and launched herself at him, kissing all over his face.
“Wow.” He wrapped an arm around her hips and pulled her closer against him. “I should come interrupt your early morning work more often if it will get me this response.”
She just kept kissing him. Hopefully, in the next few days, she’d have some really good news. It may not stop the murmurings in his head, but at least he would know what they meant.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Lyn yawned as they showed up to the Linear Tactical cookout. Her late-night work had caught up with her.
They pulled up in front of the small house that had been remodeled into an office; quite a few cars were already parked there.
Lyn smoothed her hands down her lightweight sundress. She knew all these people, had met them all over the years when she’d come to visit Gavin and had gotten to know them all better the past couple of weeks, and considered them her friends.
But being here as Heath’s girlfriend…that changed things.
“I’m glad you’re coming with me today,” he said. “I know you don’t really like law enforcement.”
She turned to him, blinking rapidly. “What? That’s not true. Who told you that?”
“Gavin.”
She rolled her eyes. “Gavin always wants to make things so black or white. It’s not that I don’t like law enforcement or the military. It’s just there’s a cost for being in that line of work that sometimes I don’t think you guys realize. Your awareness—that innate sixth sense you have? That comes at a price. A toll.”
They got out of the car and he walked around and took her hand. “You’re incredibly insightful, do you know that?”
She smiled, loving the way his fingers felt around hers. “Growing up in my family, I’ve had plenty of practice observing.”
They walked toward the back where the festivities were already in full swing. “Well, today nobody should be in alpha mode. We’re keeping this to the company and their guests, not the whole town. We got a couple of people who’d prefer we keep it intimate.”
“Like Cade Conner?”
The country music star had been raised in Oak Creek and was a silent partner at Linear Tactical. It was his money that had helped the company grow so fast.
“Yeah, Cade likes to keep a low profile as much as possible. But also our friends Dorian and Ray are going to be here.”
“They were both in Project Crypt.” She’d met Dorian a few times, but not Ray. “They moved away, right? Dorian isn’t working for Linear anymore?”
He nodded. “He is but taking a less traditional role right now while they aren’t living in Oak Creek. It’s hard for them to be around people. We’re all used to it with Dorian because of his PTSD. Ray’s difficulty being around people has come on much more recently. I was hoping I could help, but . . .”
He shrugged, his features tight. There was obviously more he wasn’t telling her, but she didn’t press. It all came back to that gibberish in his head.
She squeezed his hand, wanting to tell him about her findings last night, that hopefully an answer was coming soon. Kendrick was already working on the program. With any luck, it would lead somewhere.
The tension slipped a little from his face as they joined the Linear family in the open space behind the office; the talking, laughing, and the aroma from whatever was cooking on multiple grills a soothing balm.
Everyone simply enjoying one another.
Little Jess ran up to Lyn— Finn’s son, Ethan, not far behind.
“Lyn! Lyn! I’m so glad you’re here!” Jess hugged her. “I get to roast marshmallows after we eat!”
Before Lyn could respond, Jess ran off giggling. Obviously, the firecracker wasn’t mad that Lyn had moved her computer to Heath’s house, out of her little fingers’ reach.
“I’m glad you’re here too.” Heath kissed the top of Lyn’s head as they walked farther into the fold. “Maybe you’ll let me roast your marshmallow later tonight.”
She laughed. “That line work often?”
He grinned and waggled an eyebrow. “I’ll let you know later tonight.”
He kept his arm around her, and Lyn didn’t mind that at all as they walked up to the nearest table, where the enormously pregnant Charlie was sprawled, fanning herself even though it was a relatively mild day.
“Damn, Charlie.” Heath let go of Lyn to wrap an arm around the tiny woman. “Did you have to swallow the whole watermelon and not leave any for anybody else?”
He jumped back as she elbowed him in the stomach, then rubbed her own belly. “Never make fun of a woman who’s four days overdue. I don’t even need a weapon to take you out, Kavanaugh.” Charlie smiled over at Lyn. “I would blame my violent tendencies on this baby, but we all know I’m just crazy all the time. Good to see you, Lyn.”
Heath kissed Lyn on the forehead. “I’m going to go see if Gavin and Finn need any help over at the grill.”
Charlie smirked as Heath walked away. “Finn’s using the grill as an excuse to stay far away from me. His mama didn’t raise a fool.”
“So I guess the baby should be coming any second.”
“Yeah, he better hurry up and get here.” She reached her hand out for Lyn’s and brought it to her extended belly.
Lyn’s eyes widened as she felt the slight movement under Charlie’s loose shirt. “Oh my gosh. That’s amazing.”
Charlie smiled. “Thanks. Ethan has Jess halfway convinced I have an alien in there. Poor guy doesn’t move quite as much anymore . . . he’s running out of room.” She knocked on her belly. “That’s a sign it’s time to come out, little man.”
She talked with Charlie a few more minutes about baby stuff—not that Lyn knew much. Finn never did leave his perch at the grill a few dozen yards away, but the big man had a pretty constant eye on Charlie. If she needed him, he’d be there right away.
Charlie knew it too, Lyn realized, as Zac and Annie came over to talk with them. Annie, one of Oak Creek’s emergency doctors, took Charlie’s pulse as they chatted and gave Finn a little nod when she was finished. Charlie noticed and gave her husband a big smile before subtly flipping him off. His laughter rang out.
She talked with the newly engaged Zac and Annie for a while. After all, she was spending most of her nights at the house Annie had rented to Heath.
Before it had belonged to Annie, it had belonged to Zac’s late-mother-in-law. His dead wife’s mother.
No one batted an eye when Jordan Collingwood and her fiancé, Gabriel, stopped by the table to talk to all of them—everyone exchanging hugs all around. Even Zac and Jordan.
Jordan was the woman who’d killed Zac’s wife and toddler son in a car accident years ago.
But they’d all made their peace with it.
This was a family, and family was sometimes messy. She knew that firsthand.
Lyn wandered around, talking and watching how everyone interacted with each other—the linguistics of it. Studying was always going to be in her nature. She’d long since given up trying to stop herself from observing and categorizing interactions.
She walked over to sit at one of the other picnic tables and let out another yawn.
“I would ask if you’ve been having a lot of late nights, but I’m afraid you’d tell me the truth, and I’d have to go pound on Heath some more.”
She shook her head at her brother’s words as he sat down beside her. “If you’re not careful, I’m going to pound on you.”
Gavin slipped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him. “It’s hard for me not to see you as that sickly kid who could never really catch her breath.”
“I’m a grown woman who knows how to manage her own health.”
He actually ruffled her hair, and she thought she might have to actually punch him. “I’m trying.”
“Well, you’re not here with a shotgun, so I guess that’s a step in the right direction.”
“I am glad you’re here, sis. And, believe it or not, I think you’re a great fit for Heath. He’s been struggling the past few months—took some hard hits like Dorian and Ray.”
“I know. He’s told me about some of it.”
He kissed her on top of the head. “Good. I just want you to be safe.”
“I am safe, Gav. Heath keeps me safe. I feel safer and more sexy and more capable around Heath than I have in my entire life.”
The look that crossed her brother’s face was downright comical. “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel about that statement.”
She smiled. “Then let me help you: ‘I’m happy because you’re happy, Lyn.’ See? Not so hard. I won’t even make you call me J-Lyn.”
“I am happy because you’re happy. But you’re still my sister, and you just told me how one of my best friends makes you feel sexy. I need a beer. Noah is here. He was purchasing a couple of horses in the area, so he stopped by. He’ll understand my pain.”
She smiled and let him go. Getting The Brothers and Dad to see her as a fully capable woman was going to take more than a couple of weeks. Dad still called every day to check on her, and she’d had multiple messages from Tristan and Andrew.
They’d all been willing to accept her choice to study linguistics. Getting them to not freak out over the potential job offer in Egypt was going to be different matter altogether. She’d save that battle for another day.
Kendrick was talking to Jess’s mom, Peyton, near the corner of a shed out the back of the area everyone was congregated in, and Lyn made her way over to them.
“Hey, you two. You guys hiding over here?” She smiled at them both.
Kendrick grinned back, but Peyton actually flushed. “No. I’m just keeping an eye on that rascal daughter of mine. You know how she can find trouble no matter where she goes. Heck, you had to move out of my house because of her.”
Lyn grabbed Peyton and pulled her in for a hug. “It really is a shame you can’t bottle that energy of hers. You’d make a fortune.”
Peyton laughed. “Don’t I know it.”
“Why don’t you sit down and enjoy the cookout?” Lyn tugged on a strand of Peyton’s short brown hair. Her friend looked tired. Then again, she always did. “We’ll all take turns keeping an eye on Jess. Plus, Ethan never seems to let her out of his sight anyway.”
Peyton nodded, her eyes darting around the area. “Yeah, maybe later. Right now, I need to tell her something. I’ll catch up with you guys in a little bit.”
She headed off before Lyn or Kendrick could say anything further.
“What just happened?” Lyn asked.
Kendrick shrugged. “She was fine until she saw Cade Conner a few minutes ago. Maybe she has some sort of celebrity crush on him and is all discombobulated.”
“Yeah, maybe.” But she’d known Peyton for a couple of years now, and the woman had always seemed way too reasonable to become flustered by the mere presence of a celebrity—not that Cade was treated like one here. Here, he was Oak Creek family.
But now that Lyn thought about it, how many times had Peyton turned off a Cade Conner song on the radio?
All the times.
Lyn had thought her friend just didn’t like that style of contemporary country music, but Peyton never turned off any other artists. Only Cade.
She watched as Peyton stopped in her tracks as she got close to the grills, then made an almost military-grade pivot in another direction. A second later, Cade stepped away from the grills where he’d been talking to Finn and his brother Baby and followed Peyton as she headed away.
Interesting.
“I’ve been working on our little pet project all day.” Kendrick nudged her with his elbow, drawing her attention back. “Quite an impressive theory.”
“It makes a lot of sense to use a dead language if you’ve already got someone like Heath whose brain is wired for languages.”
He nodded. “I need to go back and filter through the data from the hard drive again. There might’ve been something about Heath and languages that I missed because it seemed so benign.”
“That’s the reason it was such a perfect vehicle for Crypt to use. A language that for all intents and purposes is untranslatable for darn near everybody in the world.” She looked over at him. “What about the program I need you to build? Will that be a problem?”
He winked at her. “Child’s play. I’ve actually got something running now. Definitely not my most sophisticated work, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we had your algorithm by the end of the day.”
That would be perfect. The sooner Kendrick’s program was ready, the sooner she could use it to begin translating the recording.
She looked over at Heath, who was talking to Dorian and a slender, dark-haired woman she hadn’t met. That must be Ray. Dorian had her tucked into his side.
“I’m still not going to say anything to Heath about this until we know for sure. I don’t want to get his hopes up in case this is all wrong.”
Kendrick nodded. “My lips are sealed.”
She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you for doing all this. This is above and beyond friendship.”
“Look, I watched that man put himself in considerable danger to help out his friends. So I don’t mind.” He grinned. “But now I’m going to get away from you before your boyfriend comes over and beats my ass because he thinks I’m trying to steal you away.”
They walked together back toward everyone else and were immediately drawn into a conversation. The rest of the afternoon passed by much the same way. Lyn chatted with different people. Everyone was friendly, and every once in a while, she’d find herself caught up in Heath’s arms and spun around for a kiss. Everything was light and happy.
But it didn’t take long for Lyn to realize the true purpose of this whole get together.
Dorian and Ray.
Lyn didn’t know Dorian well. She knew he’d been in the Special Forces with Gavin and had also broken Gavin’s jaw in a PTSD-induced rage a few years ago.
Gavin had never held any ill will toward Dorian, and she didn’t either. She’d wanted to break most of Gavin’s bones at some point in her life.
Ray was a complete mystery. Evidently, she’d been a part of Dorian’s past and had shown back up a few months ago. Lyn wasn’t exactly sure what had happened, but they’d had to leave Oak Creek because of it.
Also, something about Ray shooting Dorian with a crossbow?
Lyn wasn’t entirely clear on any of it, but there could be no doubt that the huge man was definitely protective of Ray regardless of whether she’d shot him or not.
Everyone here seemed protective of both of them. Which was a little crazy, given that if they had worked as agents for Project Crypt, then they were more than capable of protecting themselves. Maybe taking down everyone around them.
Although, admittedly, Ray looked a little fragile. She was slender almost to the point of being skinny, and her black hair seemed unnatural with her pale skin. And Lyn had no idea what the giant headphones she’d had wrapped around her neck all day were about. If it was a fashion statement, it was a weird one.
But everyone here was so glad to see them, it was almost a tangible thing.
Which was why it became evident something wasn’t right when a man she didn’t recognize—but whose jacket and tie and department store loafers fairly shouted FBI—walked around the office and into the party area. The noise level noticeably dipped as people became aware of his presence and then picked back up as they tried to play it off like it wasn’t a big deal.
Lyn glanced over at Heath, who’d been talking to Dorian and Ray. Heath and Dorian were communicating without saying anything, using some brief hand motions. They both nodded before separating. Heath headed toward the new man; Dorian and Ray subtly eased back farther away.
Dorian wrapped his arm tighter around Ray’s shoulder—her face even more pale and gaunt now. She reached and pulled the headphones that had been around her neck up over her ears.
Fashion statement, Lyn’s ass. Something definitely wasn’t right.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Even though his back was to the other man, Heath was aware of the moment Craig Franklin walked onto the Linear property. He glanced over his shoulder, then back at Dorian and Ray.
Ray stood there, paling, as Dorian signaled his plan without words. He’d be getting out of here with Ray by any means necessary. Heath shook his head. It was better not to make a scene, if possible.
It crushed Heath to see Ray slip her headphones over her ears as Dorian led her away even though he understood why she did it.
But right now, he had to handle the problem at hand. It was important to keep Craig as far away from Dorian and Ray as possible. If Craig found out who Ray really was, things would get ugly quick.
Heath caught Gavin’s eye. His friend nodded, and they both headed toward the FBI agent from different directions. Heath upped his pace without making it noticeable and plastered a grin on his face.
“Hey, Craig.” He reached out his hand to shake as he reached the other man. “What are you doing in our neck of the woods?
Craig shook his hand, then did the same to Gavin as he walked up. “Just passing through. Had a couple of questions for you. Didn’t realize you were having a Linear shindig.”
Gavin grinned. “It’s all mostly Charlie’s doing. She said it was the only way to get Finn to do any cooking, even with her being ‘three thousand months pregnant’ as she calls it.” He crooked a finger over his shoulder and pointed. “You remember Finn and Charlie, right?”
Heath knew exactly what Gavin was doing—trying to turn Craig’s attention anywhere but on Ray and Dorian.
But Craig wasn’t necessarily falling for it. “Yeah, I think I know just about all of your team, since most of them were in the Port of Umatilla earlier this year, helping take down that terrorist ring. That’s Dorian Lindstrom over there, right? I didn’t get to meet him that day.”
