Shadows and Light: The Complete Series, page 15
As the kiss deepened, his hands drifted to the other breast, savoring the feel, and then down her abdomen, stopping at the thin lace that covered her core. He paused. Sarah arched her back and her hand covered his, spreading his fingers out over the silk fabric.
“Sarah?” His fingers begged to move, caress, burn through the triangle of fabric until skin scorched skin.
“If you stop now, I’ll shoot you with your own gun.”
He didn’t think it was possible to laugh, but he did. “Now that’s an image.” His lips locked back down on her mouth and he gently yanked at the seam of the thong to pull it down, but the seam ripped.
“Can’t apologize,” he said in a rough whisper. But Sarah didn’t seem to need one. She frantically tugged at the other side.
“No. Mine,” Jason commanded, capturing her hand and holding it gently above her head. “Please keep it there.” He caressed, savored, tasted back down her body until his mouth reached the left seam. With a slight tug, the seam came apart in his teeth.
“Damn. I can’t breathe,” he said, and his eyes roamed up to meet her gaze. He shook with need. Taking a calming breath, he cupped her face.
“Sarah, no turning back. If you give yourself to me, I can’t promise to give you back.” He had to swallow or he would choke. “You’ll be mine and I won’t share. Is that what you want?”
• • •
Sarah couldn’t catch her breath. From the very beginning of their relationship, Jason demanded so much from her, she should have been prepared for this. But she wasn’t. Nothing in her life ever prepared her for this moment. An overwhelming sensation of need churned through her until she felt she would burst from the boiling heat rushing to her core. She never knew such passion existed. And she wanted to feel—no thought, no analysis, no numbers.
Gazing into the black, passionate pools of Jason’s eyes, she knew she had to say something, but nothing came. She raised her head and took his lower lip in her mouth and sucked. She couldn’t form words, but she could show him how she felt. She wanted to rip every last piece of material from him—skin to skin.
Her hands yanked at on the button on his jeans, the only barrier left between them. She tried to remove the metal button from its tight casing, but it wouldn’t budge. She then tried to drag the jeans, buttons and zipper intact, down his narrow waist.
“So, that’s a yes?” he asked, his expression a combination of passion and wit. “Allow me.”
Seconds passed and the jeans were on the floor with everything else. She no longer cared about tomorrow. “Yes.” The single word came out in a hushed whisper. She rolled to her side, being cautious of the gashes on his back. He rolled to meet her. She wrapped her leg around his hip and drew him close, their bodies now in sync. She raised her face to meet his gaze, their lips inches from each other. She repeated the single word, but this time on a moan.
“Yes.”
Chapter Sixteen
Noran Defense Systems Headquarters
Mac drummed his index finger on the table edge and rotated his clenched jaw. By his calculations, the plush conference room, with its thirty-foot granite inlay mahogany conference table outfitted with top-of-the-line power/data units, cost more than his entire two-bedroom condo. If this was Noran’s business tactic designed to ease the tension in the room, it failed miserably.
After listening to Tom Reynolds, the chief security officer, give them the run around for the last half hour, the only thing that could ease his tension would be to reach across the fancy ass table, grab Reynolds by his thick neck, and squeeze. The bastard was feeding them a load of bullshit, deliberately lying to an FBI agent and an MSP detective. Of course, Jared wasn’t acting as a detective. This wasn’t his case. He was here as a brother—a very pissed-off brother.
Mac extended the fingers of his fisted hands and rolled the tension from his shoulders. He was about to explode all over Reynolds if he didn’t stop the bullshit.
“Mr. Reynolds, we merely want to find who is responsible.” Jared’s voice was calm.
“And you must understand, Detective McNeil. I’m in a very difficult position. You haven’t provided any evidence that corroborates a connection between the explosion in Austin and the explosion in our building.”
“So you admit there was an explosion?” Mac countered. It’s about time the weasel owned up to at least the explosion.
Reynolds’s eyes narrowed and he shifted in his chair to face Jared rather than Mac. “As I’ve been trying to explain, Special Agent McNeil, we found a defective gas line that leaked into the conduit of Dr. Tu’s lab, causing an explosion that blasted into Dr. Tu’s office. We’ve located the problem and repairs are being made. Furthermore, our facility engineers have spent hours inspecting the gas lines throughout the entire building for possible leaks. We’re waiting for the fire marshal approval to reopen.”
Mac sprung from his seat, slamming the table with a sharp whack. “Are you actually going to sit there and deny a letter bomb detonated in Sarah Tu’s office, killing one of your own men and sending Sarah to the hospital?”
“One of our computer technicians was in the office when the explosion happened,” Reynolds couldn’t meet Mac’s gaze, but instead fiddled with his tie knot. “We’re all grieving for the tragic loss of a good man. He came to work for Noran full time right out of college. We’re doing everything we can to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”
“I got the impression that Sarah was a valuable employee to this company. Does the fact that someone is trying to kill her mean nothing to you?” Mac asked, sitting back into his chair.
This time Reynolds met Mac’s glare. “Noran has nothing but the utmost respect for Dr. Tu. Where you are receiving your information? The explosion in her lab and office is coincidental. I’m sorry to hear about the letter bomb that exploded in your office, Special Agent McNeil, but I don’t see how that incident has anything to do with Noran or Dr. Tu.”
“My information comes from Sarah.” Mac’s voice turned arctic.
“Are you telling me that Dr. Tu contacted the FBI field office in Austin about the explosion here at Noran?”
“She wasn’t speaking to an FBI agent. She was speaking to a friend. He barely survived the explosion,” Jared snarled.
“That’s beside the point. We’ve a strict security protocol in place. If Dr. Tu did speak about—”
“Cut the crap, Reynolds. At last count, there’ve been two separate attempts on Sarah’s life. Besides almost being blown to smithereens in her own office, a professional hit man missed putting a bullet through her head by inches. We’re not going to sit here and listen to you bash the woman who has done nothing wrong but make the mistake of working for you bastards.” Mac stood. “This was a fucking waste of time. We’re out of here!”
Mac stormed toward the door. Just as he reached for the knob, the door pushed opened and an older man about Mac’s stature stood in the doorway, blocking his exit.
“I think we need to try this again, gentleman,” he said, gesturing to the chairs. “Special Agent McNeil, if you wouldn’t mind having a seat.” He nodded toward the chair Mac just exited. “I’m Henry Norcross, CEO of Noran,” he said, holding his hand out first to Mac then to Jared.
When Mac didn’t sit, Henry moved to the head of the table. “If you would have a seat, I assure you all your questions will be answered. My CSO was only following protocol,” Henry said and nodded at Reynolds. “Tom, I’ll take over this meeting. I’m sure you have more pressing matters to attend to.”
Reynolds collected his files and exited from the room without another word.
Henry studied Mac before he spoke. “It appears we aren’t the only ones who have had a rough couple of days.” He unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat. “I don’t know what I can tell you that will help your investigation into the letter bombs, but I’ll give you everything we know. But first, explain what you meant when you said that someone took a shot at Sarah?”
“We’ll answer your questions, Mr. Norcross, as soon as we get some answers to ours. And you have one minute before we walk out that door.” Mac didn’t like the man. He was too . . . too neat, too calm.
“That’s fair, Special Agent McNeil. What can I do for the FBI and MSP?”
“The letter bomb delivered to Sarah Tu?” Mac settled into the chair and glared at Norcross, his mind running through everything he remembered from his profile.
“I don’t know much more than you do, I’m afraid. It was delivered in a standard padded envelope. As for the bomb components, I’m sure our guys came up with the same thing you came up with. The detonator was activated by a remote trigger. Reynolds believes whoever set the bomb off did so knowing that Sarah was in the blast radius.”
“It was detonated by one of your own employees?” Rage hit Mac square in the stomach.
“Not necessarily. The detonator had a range of several hundred feet.” Henry gestured toward the window and the parking lot below. “Anyone familiar with Sarah’s habits would know she was in her office every morning by eight.”
“What about visitors in the building?” Jared asked.
“It was early enough that there were only a half dozen visitors at the time of the blast and we’ve accounted for each of them. I’m not ready to believe one of my own people would do something like this. When the letter bomb exploded on Sarah’s desk, it took the life of Andrew Curtis, one of my newest technicians. We’re not trying to cover up anything here, gentleman. I want whoever was responsible to be hung by his toes.”
Henry took a moment to loosen his tie. “However, like you, we have more questions than answers. I’m trying to keep this as quiet as possible so Reynolds and his team can concentrate on the investigation.” He rose, moved over to the credenza, and poured himself a cup of coffee. “As you know, Noran is contracted by the Department of Defense and private industry to provide the type of security that prevents this very thing from happening.” Henry placed two mugs of hot steaming brew on the table in front of Jared and Mac.
Dropping back into his chair, he said, “To have a letter bomb make it through our security is unthinkable. My CSO, the poor man you were just badgering, hasn’t even been home since the bomb went off.”
“Do you have anything else you can tell us?” Jared asked.
“The ATF forensic specialist has traced the identification tag and contacted the manufacturer of the explosive. During a routine inspection last week, they discovered the theft from their storage facility, which they immediately reported to the ATF. I’m waiting to hear back from the certified explosive specialist.” He passed a card across to Mac. “This is the name of the agent in charge. He may be happier dealing with the FBI than me.”
“So, if you’re so good, how the hell did a letter bomb get past your security?” Mac asked, pocketing the card. He then raked his fingers through his hair.
“The only thing we have been able to ascertain was the bomb didn’t come through outside mail. The mail carts are organized early each morning by interns who are assigned a floor. Reynolds watched the surveillance tapes from the mailroom and the envelope was not on Bryan’s cart when it left the room. We’ve tracked the cart through the building and this is what we found.”
Henry used a remote control to raise the two LCD monitors positioned in the table in front of Mac and Jared.
“Fancy table you have here, Mr. Norcross,” Jared commented as he watched the semi-translucent screen appear in front on him.
“Ignore the bells and whistles. As you can see from the footage, the envelope is placed on the cart after it arrived on the third floor. But even that bit of data doesn’t help us,” Henry said, staring at the screen in front of him.
The main room on the third floor was designed with workstations arranged in the middle of the large space with corridors crisscrossing through the cubicles. The cameras posted around the room were positioned to view all the exits. To the left and right of the elevators were doors leading to the men and women’s restrooms. A small hallway ran parallel to the restrooms, but was out of camera view.
Mac and Jared watched as the young man left the cart in the small hallway out of the main traffic area of the corridor and entered the restroom. When he returned moments later, he collected the cart and strolled toward Sarah’s office. A large envelope could now be seen in the bottom rack that wasn’t there before. “Someone in the hallway, out of sight of the cameras, waited until Bryan made his customary pit stop to drop the envelope into the cart.” Henry froze the frame.
“Are there any other camera angles?” Mac leaned in for a better view.
“No, the cameras were installed as security measures in case of a breach, not to spy on our employees.”
“Where does that hallway lead?” Mac pointed to the area in question.
“There are two offices down that corridor and a storeroom. It’s a dead end. The only way out is the elevators, which were automatically shut down after the blast, and the stairwell. We’ve been reviewing those tapes for hours and no one left from that corridor after Bryan’s habitual bathroom stop. Even during the evacuation, the camera would have picked up anyone leaving the corridor.”
“Whoever left that package didn’t just vanish.” Mac eyed Norcross. He took in a breath and let it out, loosening the tension in his jaw.
“No, but you’re welcome to view the hours of footage that Reynolds has already gone through if you don’t believe me. Sarah and Andrew are part of the Noran family. We’re as frustrated as you are, Special Agent McNeil.”
“A large package would be hard to hide. If the bomb didn’t go through your mailroom and wasn’t carried in, could it have been constructed on sight?” Jared asked.
“Absolutely. It could have even been made in Sarah’s lab for that matter. All the components are there.”
“I guess I don’t understand Sarah’s position in your company,” Mac responded. “I thought her background was in applied mathematics. Why does she have a lab?”
“Sarah’s abilities are almost boundless.” His eyes gleamed with pride. “She’s brilliant. Best cryptologist I’ve ever worked with. But, she also dabbles—her word, not mine—in the advanced technologies of microbotics. It has become a consuming passion of hers. The research and development team she oversees is developing robot control algorithms and motion planning for a new prototype.”
“What’s that?” Jared asked.
“Microbotics is a branch of robotics, and the potential applications in the field of intelligence are limitless. The research and development team she oversees is developing root control algorithms and motion-planning for a new prototype. Sarah and I were looking forward to Hanna joining the team when she graduated next spring.” His shoulders slumped and a moment of unconcealed grief clouded his expression. “I believe Hanna would’ve eventually become one of the leading engineers in the field of robotics.”
Maybe the man has a heart after all. Mac’s mind began to race in a different direction. “Is it possible that someone would come after Sarah because of something she is working on?”
Henry began to shake his head, then paused. When he spoke, Mac didn’t have any trouble hearing the doubt in his voice.
“This isn’t Hollywood, Special Agent McNeil. Things like that just don’t happen in our line of work. Besides, very few people at Noran have the security clearance high enough to make them privy to what is going on in Sarah’s lab.”
“We’ve hit a brick wall, Mr. Norcross.” Jared’s voice was laced with frustration. “We assumed the three attacks on Sarah were connected to an old case of Jason’s. That’s no longer a viable argument.”
“Three attacks? I thought there were only two.” Henry’s eyes darted to first Jared then Mac.
“Me, too,” Mac said, looking at Jared for an explanation.
Jared didn’t respond. Instead he faced Norcross. “The night of the blizzard, someone deliberately tried to run Sarah off the road.” He paused and rubbed his fingers over his eyes. “Sarah thought I was overreacting and believed the jerk just had too much to drink. I watched this black SUV speed pass us like a bat out of hell and ram right into the back of Sarah’s Ford Focus. It forced her into a spin that almost sent her over the guardrail. If she hadn’t controlled the spin, she would have driven down the embankment into an irrigation pond. In that storm, no one would have found her for days.”
“Mr. McNeil, I have answered your questions,” Henry interrupted edgily. “How about you answer some of mine, like where is Sarah, who in the hell is taking shots at her, and who is protecting her? Regardless of your impression of my company, I’m very fond of Sarah Tu.”
A silent look posted between Jared and Mac. “Sarah’s safe,” Mac answered.
“Where?”
Mac shook his head. He didn’t trust the man and he sure as hell wasn’t giving him any information on Jason. Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out his card and handed it to Norcross. “If you find out anything else, I’d appreciate a heads up.”
Norcross rose and eyed both men. “I understand your skepticism, but I’m not the threat. Don’t waste your time on me when someone is trying to hurt Sarah. I, too, would protect her with my life,” Henry said, reaching into his coat pocket and also pulling out a card. He scribbled on the back before handing it to Mac. “I can be reached anytime on that number. If Sarah needs anything, don’t hesitate to call me.”
Opening the door to the conference room, Henry stepped aside to allow Mac and Jared through the door. After escorting them to the foyer, he stopped them just before they walked out the entrance.
“I would appreciate it if you would let me know if you discover anything that can help us. We’re opening the doors to Noran tomorrow morning. I need my people back at work, but I also need them safe.”
Jared nodded in agreement as they walked out of the building.
“Can we trust him?” Mac asked when they reached Jared’s car.
