Hunted by the Past, page 16
At any other time, I would dodge the intense eye contact, but at this moment, I feared the loss of it would send me careening into hell.
As if he knew, he asked, “If Kelsey were alive, and you acted on any of those ideas running around in your head to get her back, would she understand?”
His question made me pause and think beyond my immediate pain and chaos. Would she have understood?
Yes.
Would she have approved?
No, because Kelsey’s moral compass had always been steadier than mine. Her lines weren’t drawn in the dirt, but etched into steel. The difference between us made some of our late-night conversations difficult. Yet, there were times when the nightmares wouldn’t leave me alone, and she was the one who would sit and listen. When I battled my way through decisions made in my time overseas, she would be the one to ask the tough questions. Those discussions gave me something solid to hold onto until the sun rose.
So now, when the darkness seemed all encompassing, I needed to borrow Kelsey’s compass, just for a little bit, just until I could justify the faith of the man sitting in front of me. The decision drew me back from the crumbling edge, and firmed the ground under my feet. I turned into his touch, and covered his hand with mine. I pressed my lips against his palm. “Thank you.”
In that quiet moment of understanding, the nebulous connection between us strengthened, and for the first time since all this horror started, I didn’t feel so alone.
He rocked forward and placed a chaste kiss on my forehead, then rose to his feet, not letting go of my hand.
In an attempt to re-establish some normalcy, I asked, “What did Delacourt say?” I set my feet to the deck and started to rise from my chair.
He let my hand go. “There’s been some chatter about a pending sale.” He stepped back, turned, and headed to the sliding glass door.
I opened my mouth to reply but a blurry form popped up inches from Kayden and cut my response short. Whoever it was pulled back the curtains on sliding glass door, their attention on the second tower of condos across the way. The image made my skin crawl and the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention. Having the past take part in my present shocked the hell out of me.
I must have made some noise because Kayden paused half way through the sliding glass door and started to turn toward me.
My body was moving before everything clicked into place. A red dot appeared at the base of Kayden’s neck as instincts outpaced thought. I sprang toward him, sending my chair tumbling to the side. I executed a clumsy tackle, hitting him just below his waist. My weight sent him to slamming to the ground face first, leaving him no time to react. His pained “umpff” stopped my heart, but the echoing crack had me shoving him deeper into the condo.
For the first time I cursed the floor to ceiling glass windows. The damn expanse of glass offered zero protection from the sniper. My spine did its best to crawl out of my flesh as I covered Kayden’s unmoving body. I cursed as I shoved the close to two hundred pounds of dead weight across tile. Not an easy feat when you were attempting a low profile on the seventh floor of a high-rise. Yet with adrenaline’s help, I got us both into the bathroom, where the only opening left was the small, high window in the wall above.
I counted the seconds waiting for a second crack. It didn’t come. With each passing second, the chance of a second shot dissipated. When I reached thirty, I felt confident enough to push off of Kayden. The abused muscles in my thigh throbbed as I sat back on my heels next to his prone body, and ran my shaking hands over him. My fingers tangled in his hair, tracing over his skull searching for an entry wound.
Nothing met my touch.
Relief began to peek out. Then just above his ear, warm wetness coated my fingers. I pulled back bloody fingers and the world stilled.
Chapter 14
“No, no, no,” I whispered. “Kayden, dammit!”
Cracks appeared on my heart, running deeper than expected. I didn’t dare turn on the light to get a closer look. I gingerly traced the wound, muttering the entire time. Only when I realized it was a furrow, not a hole, did I stop.
A graze.
I dropped my hands and sat back on my heels.Somehow, some way, we’d gotten damn lucky. “Thank you, God.”
After sending the heartfelt prayer up, I fumbled in the under sink cabinet until I found a washcloth. Rising up just enough to turn on the tap, I got the cloth wet, and then dropped back down to press it against his wound. I kept one hand on his back, finding comfort in the rise and fall of his breathing.
Eventually a low groan signaled his return to consciousness. He tried to push up.“What the hell?”
“Stop, Kayden, take it easy.”
Unsurprisingly, he didn’t listen. Instead, he shrugged off my hands and gingerly turned over until his head rested in my lap.
I repositioned the washcloth, noting his bleeding had slowed, a good sign. I brushed aside his hair and uncovered an obvious bump high on the left side of his forehead. I winced at the angry red it currently sported. “That’s going to leave a mark.”
He lifted his hand and carefully probed the area. “Dammit, Cyn next time tackle me where there’s padding.”
“I figured your chances with the tile were a hell of a lot better than with a bullet.”
“Bullet?”
Instead of answering, I asked, “What do you remember?”
He relaxed into my lap. Tiny lines taking up residence on his brow and bracketing his eyes as he went back over recent events. “We were getting ready to talk about Delacourt’s call. I was heading back in because it’s a damn furnace outside, then you made a little squeaky sound.” Before I could tell him I didn’t squeak, he continued, “You were dead white, staring just past my shoulder, then nothing.” He blinked and refocused on me. “What did you see that I didn’t?”
I bit my lower lip and avoided his piercing gaze, staring determinedly at the washcloth as I repositioned it yet again. His hand came up and caught my wrist, holding me still. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to.
I took a breath and gave in. “Someone was standing next to you, but inside, holding back the curtain. His attention was focused on the second tower.” How to explain something instinctual? “Something just…” I trailed off, unable to finish.
“Do we need to be concerned the past is showing up without an invite?”
I pulled on my wrist, just enough to get him to let go. How could he be so damn calm, when my hands were still shaking? “No, maybe it was a fluke.” Maybe. “The thing was, there was a laser sight on you.”
Kayden folded his hands on his stomach, his attention never wavering. “Sloppy. So, a message then?”
Laser sights left a telltale red dot on a target, which meant a shooter generally used it only when they wanted to keep someone ‘polite’ without imparting actual physical damage.
“Maybe.” I thought of how long we were exposed on the balcony prior to the shot, and corrected, “Yeah, definitely a message.”
He settled deeper into my lap, unaware of how much of a temptation he presented. “From Ellery?”
My fingers tingled with the urge to sink into Kayden’s thick mix of blond and brown hair. Damn man should model for some shampoo commercial. I looked away and considered my answer. There was nothing distinctive about the figure. Hell, I couldn’t even tell if it was male or female. Yet part of me didn’t think it was Ellery. “I don’t think it was him.”
“Why not?”
“The clothes weren’t the same, and I think whoever it was, was shorter.”
“We have another player?” Tension invaded the man lying in my lap.
I looked down and realized my fingers were buried in his hair, absently stroking him. I went to pull my fingers free. “It looks that way.”
He stopped me. “Don’t, it helps with the headache.”
Heat rose in my face, but as soon as he let me go, I restarted the soothing motion. Silence descended between us, and those steel blue eyes searched my face. I had no idea what he was looking for, but I refused to look away. Looking away meant I felt guilty, and I didn’t. Not much, anyway. I kept stroking his hair and bit-by-bit he relaxed. Between the soothing motion and his reassuring presence, my thoughts calmed. “Ellery left the bullet after killing Kelsey.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“There were fresh scratches on his wrists.” My fingers stilled for a moment, then resumed. “Marks Kelsey left behind.”
I waited for the inevitable question of who I thought the K was meant for. Instead, he proved how much I really didn’t understand the male species.
“That only proves it wasn’t Ellery behind the scope. If he’s serious about taking me out of the equation, he’d never let you spot the sight, nor would he miss.”
His nonchalant comment threw me off guard and I stopped mid-stroke. I gave his hair a gentle tug. “Don’t, Kayden.”
He blinked up at me.
“Don’t minimize the threat. Just because it wasn’t Ellery’s finger on the trigger, doesn’t mean he’s done playing with us. He’s like a cat with a mouse, bat it around enough, it’ll never see the end coming.” I hesitated, worried that what I said next would seem overly paranoid. “What if he considers us both bait and prey?”
He frowned. “How do you figure?”
“If we aren’t the only ones trying to track him down, he could use us to lure them out, or they could us to bring him out. Either way, we’re screwed.”
He winced, probably from my grip on his hair more than explanation. “If that’s the case, we either sit here and wait to get played, or we turn the tables. To do that we need to figure out who else has joined the game and why. Knowing that would give us enough to lure Ellery out of hiding.” He tugged my hand out of his hair, then held it against his chest. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not fond of being hunted.”
No, being hunted wasn’t my idea of a good time, either. “You don’t think I’m reaching?”
“About Ellery?”
I nodded.
“No, because it makes sense.” He let me go and started to sit up. His breath hissed out at the careful movement. “The stolen information is still missing, Ellery’s in the wind and looking for payback.” Finally upright, he leaned against the wall at our backs. “If his former bosses know anything about him, all they need to do, is sit back and wait for him to surface.”
I bent my legs until I could rest my arms on my knees. “It wouldn’t take much to connect the dots, not with the bloody trail he’s leaving.” Smears of rust decorated my fingers.
Kayden went to nod but stopped. “Right, that information is worth a lot of money. Ellery won’t hold on to it long. Eventually, he’s going to set up a sale. Which, according to Delacourt, may be happening sooner than we think.” When I looked at him, he grimaced. “Her source confirmed there were rumors the information will be up for auction in the next couple of days.”
“How reliable is this source?” It was a legit question since regular monitoring of unsavory activities rarely panned out.
“Very. The source has been deep undercover for the last two years.”
Holy shit, that poor soul. Twenty-four months of living and breathing in the darkest underbellies would leave a hell of a mark. “That doesn’t give us much time.”
“Nope, but a local name came up. She wants us to check it out.” He began the laborious process of getting to his feet.
I watched him, prepared to catch him if he went down. “Want a hand there, hotshot?” He grunted, and taking that as an affirmative, I got up and added my support to his efforts. Getting him vertical didn’t take long, but when we were done, pain pinched his face. “Or maybe some aspirin?”
“Couldn’t hurt.” He leaned against the counter, head bowed.
I grabbed the white tablets from the medicine cabinet, filled the small glass on the counter, and handed him both. “Stay here till I secure the bedroom.”
I managed a grand total of three steps before he reached out and stopped me. He opened his mouth, most likely to spout something silly, but I held my hand up, palm out. “Don’t, it’ll take me a few minutes, and you’re in no shape, so just stay here.”
He let me go.
Smart man.
Five minutes later, the condo was once again hidden behind heavy curtains and Kayden was sprawled out on the sofa.
In the kitchen, I dumped the OJ down the sink and tossed the container in the recycle bin. “Who are we checking out this time?”
“Joaquin Hobbes, CEO of NSpirit.”
I turned on the faucet, and rinsed the sink. “NSpirit? Sounds familiar.”
“A synthetic biology company headquartered in Chicago. They hold a few contracts with the Department of Defense.”
I turned the water off, and then leaned my hip against the counter. “And Hobbes just happens to be in Phoenix?”
“Not only does NSpirit have a building here in the Valley, but it seems Hobbes keeps a summer home just north of Scottsdale, and he’s in residence.”
“Hmmm.” Coincidence be damned, it couldn’t be that easy.
Giving myself time to think, I grabbed a glass, filled it with water, and then walked over to collapse in the plush chair next to the couch. Stretching out my legs, I slid down until the toes of my boots almost touched the coffee table leg, and the back of my head rested against the chair’s pillow top. I took a sip of my water, then cradled the glass against my stomach. “And Delacourt wants us to go to his home?”
“Nope, she put a team on his house. We get to go to dinner.”
“Dinner?”
“Hobbes has a dinner meet on his agenda at The Dragon.”
And a GPS stuck up his ass. It shouldn’t surprise me that Delacourt had such a detailed agenda for Hobbes. No government group, acknowledged or not, existed without at least one very scary, very good hacker. Everyone lived their life in the electronic world, and for those who could navigate it, those lives were open books. “Who’s he meeting?”
“A woman. Not his wife.” Kayden sounded weary.
I turned my head, and studied him. His arm was thrown over his eyes, his lips were a tight line framed by his neat goatee, and his skin was still pale. “You sure you’re up for this?”
“Not like I have much choice.”
Too true. Delacourt might not be my commanding officer, but Kayden still had to ask how high when she said, ‘jump’. “At least the food will be good.”
His lips twitched, but he didn’t move from his supine position. “We’re not going in, Cyn.”
“Damn it,” I grumbled. “I guess we better grab some drive-thru.”
We both fell silent. The cushy chair felt good, so I sank a little deeper and let my eyes drift close. Under my hand, the glass sweated.
Kayden broke the quiet. “We can’t stay here.”
I didn’t bother to open my eyes. “I know.”
Kelsey’s condo was compromised. First by Ellery, then by whoever followed him. Not that I planned on staying long anyway. My duffle and Tito’s journals were locked in the back of my Jeep. The decision to come here was a Hail Mary move that worked out way too well. Plus, there was a part of me that needed to come back, needed to see Kelsey one more time, needed to see her without fear and resignation in her eyes. A solid lump of sorrow settled in my chest.
“It’ll get easier.”
I blinked my eyes open, and turned to him with a frown. “What? Are you reading my mind now?”
“Nope.” He lifted the arm over his eyes and captured my gaze. “Your energy. The stronger the emotion, the clearer it comes through. Makes it hard to miss.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted him knowing how I felt, so I threw up every mental block I could.
He gave me a faint grin. “And you just locked it all down.”
Wow, definitely disconcerting. “Have you been able to read me that well from the get-go?”
His grin disappeared. “No, most of the time, the energy signatures resemble faint bands of color. The more we work together, the brighter yours become.”
I sat up and the last little pieces of ice rattled against my glass. I set it on the coffee table. “Delacourt was right to worry.”
Even lying down, he managed to shrug. “I’d rather not go looking for trouble. We have enough things to stress about, without adding in something we can’t change. Besides, Ellery’s signature is getting clearer too. I just wish I could get a glimpse at where he’s going.”
That reminded me of a question that had been spinning around in my head. “You called Liza a pre-cog and Risia a seer. What’s the difference?”
He took my change of subject in stride. “It depends on an individual’s psychic strength, but pre-cogs see one future, and can determine what will happen in the next hour or so, but the further out they go, the less accurate their predications become. Seers see various futures, but those futures are fluid. Why?”
“I’ve been trying to figure out how Ellery stays ahead of everyone. I thought maybe it had to do with the ability he stole from Liza.”
“Maybe, but she was a mid-range psychic, which put her accuracy at about forty percent.” He sat up slowly, his color a bit closer to normal. “I’d be more concerned if Ellery got his hands on Risia.”
“How come?”
“Risia’s accuracy is closer to seventy percent.”
I gave a low whistle. “Guess she’s not mid-range, then.”
He shook his head. “She compared being a seer to looking at wall full of screens. If each screen started with the same action and the same players, it wouldn’t be long before each screen showed different scenarios. All it takes is one person to make one unexpected decision and everything changes. Seers have to have an anchor that holds them to the present, or they’ll get lost watching those screens. She called it a Cassandra Spiral.”
The implications of his words sent a shiver of dread down my spine. It sounded eerily similar to slipping too deep into the tides of the past. “That doesn’t sound good.”
He grimaced. “Yeah, not something I’d wish on anyone.”
