Fighting for Hailey, page 8
“I know that.” And she hadn’t meant to insinuate otherwise. She cleared her throat, trying to move past her stupid mouth. Their driver was in the front seat, on his phone, completely ignoring the three of them, which worked well for Hailey. “Okay, so we get in, take some pictures, see what this place really is, then get out. And if we see anyone, we run. This is just about information gathering at this point. I’m hoping we’ll find something useful, but considering that Reese and Elijah found a whole lot of nothing, I’m not holding my breath.”
Both men nodded, standing at alert. Okay, then. She was used to working with her Redemption Harbor Security team, and they were all former military—though Cash was actually former army, and Jesse had learned self-defense from a former Spec Ops guy on his security, so she knew they could both handle themselves.
Ask her how she knew that little tidbit about Jesse’s training. Oh right, a little bit of sneaky stalking.
“I’m going to take point,” she started.
“Ah, how about I take point?” Cash said, interrupting. “You’re the one with the drone-flying skills and the hacking skills.”
“You guys can’t fly a drone?” She looked between the two of them disbelievingly, especially since she knew for a fact that Jesse was backing a new prototype of drone that would probably make him another couple million once it hit the market.
Jesse cleared his throat, looking slightly abashed.
“That’s what I thought. Jesse, you fly the drone. And fine, you can take point, Cash. You have more on-the-ground experience than me anyway.”
Wordlessly, they made their way through the woods, using makeshift walking paths—probably from hunters—to get close to the border of the warehouse’s property. It was a gray day, their breath curling in front of them as they trekked over the brittle grass.
“All right, this is close enough.” Jesse spoke quietly as they neared the property line.
Through the trees they could see the parking lot and building, but as far as she could tell there weren’t any signs of life—no cars, no security, nothing. Not that the lack of all that necessarily meant anything. There could be people inside.
She and Cash were quiet as Jesse got to work, quickly deploying the drone with an efficiency that she could admit was impressive. She’d logged a lot of hours because of her job—in the Marines and the one she had now—and he guided the machine even better than she did.
As he steered the drone high above the warehouse, she made notes of each security camera location. “They don’t seem to be motion activated at least,” she murmured.
“No, these are fairly shitty actually. I mean, not the bottom of the barrel, but no real pharma company is going to use this kind of equipment, especially not Innovative Labs.”
Jesse frowned as he moved around, looking for a good way to infiltrate the drone.
“There,” he finally said. “If we move in from this angle, only one camera might catch us. And we’ll have enough time to get inside and look around.”
After he packed up the drone and propped the case against one of the nearby oak trees, they hurried through the woods until they were southwest of the structure.
“Everyone ready?” Cash looked at the two of them, and when they nodded, he said, “We’re silent now. No one speaks in case there’s any sort of recording devices inside.”
She looked back at Jesse, nodded once, then followed after Cash, the three of them sprinting for one of the back doors. She turned up the volume on the handheld radio she’d attached to the back of her pants so they could hear the chatter of the local deputies. This was old-school but worked in a rural place.
Even though Cash was taking point, she moved in front of the door and quickly picked the lock—and again, it wasn’t top-of-the-line with biometrics. Which was just plain odd for what this place was supposed to be.
Cash moved in front of her, and she was very aware of Jesse’s presence behind her as they stepped into the building.
Cash flipped on the nearest switch and…a flicker of overhead lights came on. She turned on the rest of them, and more lights sputtered on in a ripple, one after the other, illuminating… nothing. An empty building.
She looked up at the two men, and Jesse nodded once before they fanned out. She sprinted across the floor, her sneakers making squeaking sounds as she headed for a door on the other side. To her surprise, Jesse was right next to her, a weapon held loosely in his gloved hand.
She frowned at the sight of it since they’d agreed to no weapons—though she did have pepper spray, one of her favorite things ever—but didn’t say a word. Once they reached the other door, she tested the handle, but Jesse moved her out of the way with his body before sweeping in, weapon out.
Oh yeah, he’d had more than just a little training because he held that thing like a pro. But once he saw the room was empty other than built-in metal shelving, they stepped back out into the main room and tried another door.
Ten minutes later she heard an alert on the radio about a silent alarm going off at their address, so she motioned to Jesse and Cash, and they hurried out, racing back the way they’d come.
Normally she liked to do more recon and to completely disable any security systems, but this was essentially on the fly. By the time they made it back to the SUV, she could hear a siren in the distance.
So they worked quickly, shucking their masks, her wig and changing into different sweaters before Wilson, their quiet driver, steered out of the hiding spot. And two minutes later, as they headed down the two-lane highway to the interstate, they drove by a police cruiser that didn’t pause as it passed them.
Hailey shoved out a breath as their driver pulled onto the interstate.
“That was a whole lot of nothing,” Cash grumbled.
“Maybe, maybe not,” she murmured. “But I don’t think we should waste time looking at the other addresses. Unless either of you do?”
“Your team already looked at two and found nothing,” Jesse murmured. “I think you’re right. We should head back home.”
She liked the way he said home, had the sudden thought that she wished his home was hers. Shaken by the random thought, she simply nodded. Home wasn’t with him, not anymore.
Though it had been at one point. Walls and a roof had never mattered to her, just his presence. Unable to meet his gaze for fear that he’d somehow read her mind, she pulled out her phone and texted her team as well as Skye, updating everyone on what they’d found.
She knew that Skye’s crew was working on something big right now, but thankfully Gage was always willing to help with any type of research.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure what the hell else to look for. “Would it be a total breach of whatever for you to let me look at Easton’s work?” she suddenly asked, looking at Jesse. He’d already sent over all of Easton’s work files, but she wanted to see his lab. “Like his office space itself? Maybe talk to some of the people he works with? I know the Feds have already, but… I’m less scary than an FBI agent.”
Nodding, he looked at his phone. “We’ll stop by as soon as we get back.”
Well, that was easy. Unable to look at him for too long, she simply nodded her thanks, then leaned her head against the back of the seat. She shouldn’t be thinking about what she’d done with Jesse only hours ago. Too bad the sounds and images—and sensations—were right at the forefront of her brain, just waiting for any downtime she had to wave all the memories in front of her like a giant flag.
To remind her of all the goodness she’d had before. And now that she’d had another brief taste, she knew it was a matter of time before she lost it again.
Lost Jesse.
Because there were things he didn’t know, things she’d never been brave enough to tell him.
Sighing, and against her better judgment, she leaned into him, settling her head against his shoulder. To her surprise, he slid one big hand on her leg, gently set it against her knee. So she linked her arm through his and placed her hand over his.
He might not be hers anymore, but she could pretend he was for just a little bit.
Chapter 13
Henry Silva didn’t like coming here, but there was nothing to be done about it. He’d had his men bring Easton Reed, certifiable genius, to one of his safe houses, drug him, and try to loosen him up.
Because this was the kind of individual he couldn’t use brute force with, couldn’t torture. Unfortunately. Not when he needed what was inside Easton’s head. Soon he’d move him to a designated work space, but he needed Reed dependent on him, to want the drugs he was slowly pumping him full of.
One of his guards was outside the bedroom and simply nodded as he approached.
He stepped into the room, saw the genius lying on the mattress, staring up at the ceiling. And when Easton looked over at him, his eyes were glassy, unfocused.
He stepped back out into the hallway. “I thought you were pulling back on the doses.” They’d overestimated the first couple, and the man had gotten sick.
“I did, but he’s refusing to eat unless I force him. And you were very clear that we can’t use force with him,” the guard said quietly. The man was a former Ranger, dishonorably discharged, and seemed to get off on causing others pain. But he knew how to follow orders, so Reed wasn’t truly being injured.
Maybe drugging him was the wrong move. Henry hadn’t planned to take the man originally, but things had changed recently.
“That still stands. Dose him again to knock him out, then move him. I think we’re handling this the wrong way.” Something he hated to admit, but he hadn’t gotten to where he was by not being able to pivot—despite what some people thought.
Easton Reed was a man used to his lab, a clean, pristine living space. Maybe if he put him in a work environment, gave him food and clothing, he’d be more compliant, even without drugs. Because the only flaw in his plan to drug Reed was that it could affect him neurologically. And he needed the man’s brain.
Reed was a nerd at his core and lived and breathed science. Maybe he simply needed to be in a familiar environment.
Getting someone to do what you wanted always took finesse. For some, torture or even the threat of pain was enough. For others, blackmail was the best option. It caused fear, and people almost always acted in their best interests when they didn’t want the world privy to their dirty little secrets.
And he had so much dirt on people—another reason he was where he was. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to get anything on Reed. The man lived like a monk. He’d had his people start working on building a fake trail of money online to cast a dark shadow around Easton, but he needed what was in the man’s head before he killed him.
Because knowledge was the ultimate power.
Henry simply had to play this right. Especially since the Feds were involved now. The local cops couldn’t find their asses with both hands. But the FBI was a different story. And he wanted to know who the hell that woman who’d broken into Easton’s place had been. He’d had one of his guys sitting on the man’s apartment just in case, and he’d seen some random woman breaking in through the window. From the sixth floor. Unfortunately, he didn’t even have a picture of her so he couldn’t run her ID.
Then his guy had gone and gotten himself arrested by the Feds. At least the idiot wasn’t talking anyway.
As Henry headed out of the safe house, he frowned at an incoming text, then froze for a moment before getting into his car. He’d parked in the garage so no one would see him. Before leaving, he read the incoming texts again, digested everything.
Someone had broken into multiple warehouses owned by his business partner. The places were empty so it wasn’t as if the individuals breaking in had taken anything. It was the fact that three separate places had been broken into all around the same time.
A targeted effort.
They used the places as fronts, usually to funnel R&D money into their own pockets, but no one should know anything about them. Not when they went to great lengths to keep their business private. He definitely had to, considering his job.
If he was being investigated by the FBI, he should have heard something about it by now, especially considering the man who worked for him.
His fixer.
Annoyed now, he angrily called the man who solved all his problems so he didn’t have to get his hands dirty. “I think we have an issue.”
Chapter 14
—Whoever said whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger was a moron. Lots of stuff that doesn’t kill you makes you weaker; gunshot wounds for instance.—
Hailey worked on her laptop as Jesse drove through the throng of traffic. At three o’clock, the number of vehicles on the road seemed excessive, but she figured this was just what the DC/Virginia area was like. It was just the two of them now, having gone separate ways with Cash once they’d landed back in Virginia.
And maybe it was just her, but things between them felt…awkward. But she didn’t think it was just her.
“So what are you going to do with my panties anyway?” she asked into the quiet.
He jerked slightly, but the wheel barely moved under his expert grip. “Put them under my pillow tonight. Maybe the panty fairy will bring me something amazing.”
She stared at his stoic profile before a burst of laughter escaped. “The panty fairy, that’s a new one.” Smiling to herself, she went back to her screen. But then she paused, looked back up at him. “You get visits from the panty fairy a lot?”
“This will be the first time.”
She sniffed once before she looked back at her screen.
Then he surprised her. “So I probably should have asked before—not that the answer would have mattered, if I’m being honest—but I take it you’re not dating anyone.”
“I don’t date. And I’m on the pill because of…the same issues I had years ago.” But now she was wondering if he was dating anyone. If he was, Easton had never mentioned it during one of their talks. She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to not ask the thing she wanted to ask. Because she had self-control. Normally. “Are you dating anyone?” So much for self-control.
He simply grunted in response.
What the hell did that mean? She didn’t have the courage to push because she didn’t want to know about his dating habits. Ugh, the thought was just… She couldn’t even put it into words. See, this was exactly why she’d tried to avoid thinking of him over the years.
And had only stalked him a little bit from time to time.
“Wait a minute…” Her fingers flew across the keyboard as that familiar buzz hit.
“What is it?”
“I’m not sure just yet. But I think I might have something.” Oh please let her have a lead. “Whoever set up that fake account in an LLC under Easton’s name made a mistake. Or I think they did…”
Thankfully he was silent as she continued to work.
“Okay, so it looks like all of the LLCs for the fake companies we visited were set up by various people, who might not even be real. They’re performing transactions with other LLCs offshore, and then these offshore companies are lending money or investing in various businesses.”
“It’s a loan-back scheme,” he murmured.
“Yes, something I honestly don’t fully understand. But what I do understand is that one of these offshore companies is one that funded Easton’s fake account originally. And…”
She utilized a program that Gage Yates had created to search county records all over the country.
“The attorney of record on most of these is the same, Ian Warren. He hasn’t inherently done anything wrong other than set up accounts for his clients. But he’s got to be involved in whatever this shit is.” Hailey wasn’t sure what was going on yet, but the fact that the LLCs they’d visited had been set up by this same attorney who’d set up an LLC that had eventually funded Easton’s account was too much to ignore.
“He’s a shark. Tried to pull me in as a client years ago, but I politely declined. Most of his clients are in politics. And it’s a select few. Not my crowd.”
“That might narrow things down, then.”
“Yeah,” Jesse murmured, frowning, but she could see the wheels in that big brain of his turning. “We’re here.” He nodded as they pulled up to the security gate.
Blinking, she looked up and half smiled at the security guy as Jesse rolled down his window.
“Hey Roland, how’s it going?” Jesse’s voice was cordial, and she wasn’t at all surprised that he knew the first name of the security guy here. He had a way with names and faces that had always impressed her. And he was good with people—or at least not terrible like she was. She preferred her computer, books, and hiking to most people.
“Can’t complain. I’m really sorry about Easton. Everyone here is hoping he’s found soon.”
“Thank you. We are too,” he said, motioning to Hailey, who simply nodded at the man. “Roland, this is Hailey, a childhood friend of Easton’s.”
Roland gave her a sympathetic look before he focused on Jesse again.
“Anyone here right now?” Jesse continued.
“Other than security, everyone else cleared out twenty minutes ago.”
Made sense considering it was just after normal business hours and getting dark.
“I won’t be here long, but I appreciate everything you do here. Thanks for holding down the fort.”
The man smiled at Jesse once and tipped an imaginary hat before he waved them through the gates.
“Do you stop by here a lot?”
“Only to check on Easton, make sure he’s taking care of himself.” There was a hint of something in his voice she couldn’t quite define.
On impulse she reached out and squeezed his arm. “We’re going to find him.”
“That’s what I keep telling myself. I just… I worry about him. And I know he’s a grown-ass man. A very smart man. An actual genius. I just…”
