He kissed her hair. "You're only quiet when you're thinking. What's up?"
She drew a deep breath, squeezing contentment back inside to wrestle with her doubts. "You, I hope." He tweaked her butt and she grinned.
If she only had now with him, she'd make the most of it and accept his decision when the time came, if he really was determined to leave. But that didn't mean she couldn't try to change his mind. Nathan had given his life for his family, made every sacrifice asked of him. She cared too much about him to be one more person for whom he had to sacrifice himself.
She would not expect more from him than he could give.
If she got her heart broken now, she couldn't blame it on Nathan.
He rolled her over onto her back and kissed her. Took control of this round. He kissed with serious intent and tenderness, the way a man should kiss a woman. She ran her hands over the cut of his chest, touching a scar not long healed. Had to be from prison. Terri lifted up and kissed it. If only she could reach his other wounds so easily.
His fingers slid up her leg softly, then stopped at the ugly scar inside her right leg. "Does it hurt?"
"Not right now."
"This time will be much slower," he said, then nipped her skin.
"Like my heart can take slower."
"Your heart can take anything."
She certainly hoped so. Either way, she intended to push it, and him, to the limit.
* * *
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
"I have to show up at the office." Terri swiped a brush through her hair just enough times to feel like she'd given her locks a chance to act right.
"You're a consultant." Nathan's reflection loomed in the mirror behind her. Nice pecs, she mused.
"Terri?"
"What?" Her gaze shot up to his face. "We have a cop missing, contents missing, and a possible" She halted before "terrorist attack" came out.
He angled his head and raised an eyebrow in question.
Crap. She turned around and leaned back against the sink. "I'm responsible for this investigation."
"There's more you aren't telling me." He crossed his arms.
"Yes, but I can't."
Something passed through his gaze that could be disappointment. "I'm going to help you first, then finish what I came here for, so if you decide to trust me I can be an asset."
That gouged her conscience. She'd obviously trusted him with her body and wanted him to share what he knew, so how could she hold out? Nathan was her best informant.
Only informant.
"I guess you aren't going to tell anyone," she muttered, making her decision.
He shook his head and gave her a wry smile.
She tossed the brush onto the counter and turned around. "Let me get dressed and we'll talk."
"Good idea, or this will be a short discussion." He hooked a hand on each side of her waist, just above her panties, and slid them up, piling her tank top over his wrists until his thumbs brushed across the cups of her bra, hardening her nipples.
She grabbed his upper arms. "Stop, I'm going to be late." That didn't come out too convincingly.
He kissed her, teasing with his tongue to the same rhythm as his thumbs, and her knees threatened to fold. She shuddered, trying to hear that small voice reminding her that she had to get to the office.
Nathan ended the kiss and stopped toying with her breasts, but he continued to hold her. Good thing, since she'd lost track of any muscle strength below her groin.
She blinked her eyes open. "I hate you."
The evil dog smiled at her. "No, you don't."
"Yes, I do. I want to continue. I have to leave soon. So now I'm going to be miserable all day."
"Just giving you something to look forward to later." He released her and she sagged back to her feet. "Thought you had to get dressed."
Terri huffed and rolled her eyes. "Men." She changed to brown corduroy pants and a creme-colored turtleneck so she could wear her short boots, to be prepared for anything today;
When she walked into the kitchen, Nathan handed her a mug of coffee. Her kind of man. "I'll tell you what I know so far," she started.
"My former partner, Conroy, had gone undercover to worm his way inside a renegade bunch of drug mules trying to get on Marseaux's payroll. While trying to build inroads with Marseaux, the men got wind of an offer to sell them information from an unknown woman. They didn't want any part of it, but Conroy convinced the leader he could check out the woman and get information without spending a penny, even though he planned to pay the woman if she really did have significant intel. He finally met her after some convoluted instructions the CIA would have admired. She claimed to have been an unwilling member of a powerful organization that is manipulating everyone from Marseaux to our government."
"A conspiracy?" Nathan sounded as skeptical as she had once been.
"I know what you're thinkingwacko. My first reaction, too. Even Conroy admitted his initial impression was 'mental case.' She said she was twenty-three. He said you could tell she'd been a gorgeous blonde at one timewhich meant petite with perky boobsbut looked rough for her age." Terri scoffed under her breath. "Men."
"What?"
"I get so tired of being judged in between 'not tall' and 'too full-figured to be petite'.
"How big a guy was Conroy?"
Terri cocked her head. "He was five-ten and lean. Why?"
"Because he'd want a woman who made him feel big. I like a woman who's more than a... handful." Nathan gave her a wolfish grin.
She shook her head. "Yeah, well, I was never petite. I filled out early and with not much less than I have now. My first year in the DEA, I felt like every man in the department couldn't see past my cup size."
Nathan ran a finger down her cheek. "You're intelligent, sexy, gorgeous, and passionate. Any man who'd only notice your breastsbeautiful as they areis missing the whole package and the real woman inside."
For a man of few words who was rough around the edges, Nathan could charm the pants off any woman. Terri had to find a way to keep him near until they could clear his name. She leaned in to hug him and kissed his chest, then pulled away, hoping what was in her heart didn't show in her eyes.
He studied her with a curious expression, then blinked and stepped away, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the wall. "What else did this woman tell Conroy?"
Yes, he saw that look on her face. Terri sighed and continued. "Conroy said the woman babbled, turning her head constantly to watch, as if she expected a threat. He was ready to give her a few bucks and blow it off when she told him she knew what had happened to a DEA agent in California who had been missing for two months. She gave the missing agent's undercover name and his real name... and how he was killed."
"Was the body found?"
"No."
"So why did Conroy believe her?"
"Because she had a photograph of the dead agent with a newspaper headline showing the date, which matched the day our West Coast office lost contact with him. The photo had been proof of the contract completed. She snuck the photo out, thinking it would be worth enough money to get her out of the country, but wouldn't tell Conroy where she'd been living. She'd been raised in a wealthy Swedish family that had told her from day one she was special and being groomed for a great honor. At nineteen, she was sent here to a fra."
"A 'fra' ? What the hell is that?" His eyebrows drew together in a tight frown.
"It's Italian for brother. Conroy offered to put her in touch with a friendmeso I could get her to a safe house since he couldn't blow his cover, but he said he wanted the name of the organization first. She got agitated and said she couldn't even speak the name for fear of putting her family in jeopardy if anyone found out she was the one who had told."
"Did she have any significant intel?"
"She knew about Marseaux, which confirmed some things we knew and she knew, about a drug shipment coming in this week."
"Did she say who the buyer was?"
/> "No, she rambled about hidden dangers in the shipment and attacking innocents. The cocaine has been tested. Premium product, nothing added." Terri had pieced together everything she could recall after the attack, but she'd missed something.
"Why did she come forward now?"
"She told Conroy she hated being forced to service this old fra, but had been afraid to try to escape after hearing what had happened to other women who had tried. The women in this bonded slavery were all blonde like her, except for a black-haired female assistant, who gave this blonde a break from old man's bed on occasion. After she overheard some men talking with the fra about how they needed people to test a virus on, she panicked. She was terrified she'd end up as a guinea pig, because the fra had just called her useless for being sick and crying all the time. She was pregnant and hadn't told him. While he was in bed one night with his assistant, she snuck into his office and found photos of hideous deaths the men had brought with them. That cinched the decision to escape."
"Did she have any of those photos?"
That would have been too easy. Terri shook her head. "No, she was afraid to take something he'd just gotten in since he might notice current photos missing. She dug around until she found the DEA agent's photo with his name and alias on the back."
"How does this tie together with Marseaux's shipment?"
"I don't know. I've been through that container over and over again. I can't find anything missing except the teak carpenter tools. I wish I'd unpacked that whole box now. If Monday is a terrorist attack, we only have a couple days."
"Have you contacted anyone in national defense?"
"Be serious. I don't have enough proof I found out all this the night I met with Conroy. He finally convinced her to meet me. I got a text message to meet Conroy about a big break in the Marseaux case, which is what I told our SAC the day I went to meet Conroy. But when I got to Conroy, he shared everything, including that this organization of fratelli had their people working covertly inside every government agency... even the DEA. That's why he was careful about what he told me via text message. We were ambushed before he could lead me to the woman."
"That's how you were injured?"
"Yes."
Nathan's fierce gaze chilled her. "Who else knew about the meeting?"
"Everyone working on the Marseaux case. We had over twenty agents and NOPD detectives. I had a tracking chip in my phone. All I had to do was hit a stored three-digit number, then hit send, which I could do without looking at the phone, to call in backup. I never got a chance. Someone hit me over the head first."
"Any idea what happened to the woman?"
"No, but I doubt she made it." Terri had worried over her many nights, wishing she'd been able to help her. "There's been a rash of missing blonde females. Five in the past eight months fit her description. By the time I was out of recovery, I was under investigation for Conroy's death and suspected, of playing for Marseaux's side. Incriminating evidence appeared. I haven't contacted any agency about this intel, because I don't know who I can trust. If I could find hard evidence to prove there was going to be an attack, I'd at least send it in anonymously; I've researched everything around that date and there is no major event: the president isn't traveling, the date doesn't have a meaning like 9/11 did, no dignitaries are coming here. I have nowhere to point to as a location or person to protect." She took in a deep breath and let it rush from her lungs, as if that would flush out her frustration of being no closer at this point.
"Who would go to that much effort to frame you?"
That was something Terri wished she knew. "My first thought would be Josie since she hates me, but I can't make that fit in my mind. She's been a roaring pain in my side since our first meeting, but I have to give the witch credit. She's made her share of busts and is a stickler for playing by the book. I've never trusted Brady's partner, Donnie Sinclair. But it may be more personal than anything. He gets on my nerves with crude jokes."
"What about Brady?"
She should have answered quick and decisively, but got hung up on how to explain her relationship with Brady. "No, and if you'll stop scowling I'll tell you why. We, uh, dated for a while. We never were intimate," she rushed to add. "He's still interested, but I'm not. He followed me that night, because he later told me he'd suspected Conroy for a while and was worried about me. We argued about that one when I was in the hospital, but I couldn't fault Brady. If he hadn't shown up and shot the guy attacking me with a knife, the second stab would have split my chest."
"That doesn't mean he's trustworthy," Nathan pointed out with extra force.
She started to defend Brady, but realized Nathan was speaking as a man who had just slept with her and suspected any man.
"He's been sharing information, so I have to trust him for now."
"I don't. Let's go over everything you and I have so far. I didn't get a chance to tell you that I found Jamie's notes."
"Really?" She watched for any sign of emotion, but Nathan shared nothing with his stern expression. He kept his emotions tucked far away. She couldn't fault him in light of all he'd endured.
"Jamie found that same date in Marseaux's correspondence with a man called V. Jamie cross-referenced every date and event he could find, too, and came up empty. He was thinking biological warfare or a chemical release."
"Nothing fits. How would anything like that be transported in tools? The small handsaw and planing tool I saw had ornately carved teak handles. There was a solid wood L square. I didn't dig farther in the box, but nothing looked suspicious."
"I don't know," Nathan murmured to himself. "We're missing something significant."
She checked her watch. "I really have to go. If I don't show up today I'll draw attention neither of us needs."
"Then go."
Nathan was back to two-syllable sentences.
She asked, "What are you going to do today?"
"Watch your back."
"I'll be fine."
"I'll make sure of it." He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her so tenderly she wanted to melt. When he stopped, Nathan said, "I" then paused.
"What?" She tried to read his eyes, but he just shook his head as if reconsidering his words.
He kissed her forehead. "Let me know if you need a cell phone. I'll get one from Stoner. Keep my number with you."
"I can't get anything done while worrying about you out on the streets with the entire world looking to hang you."
Nathan sighed and took her hand. "Trust me. I can handle this."
She didn't doubt his skills, but she did worry about what he'd do once he found his brother's killer.
Would he truly wait for justice?
*
Brady and Donnie were waiting by her desk when Terri walked in. She didn't have time for this. "I'm in a hurry, got a lot to do today," she told Brady as she walked up.
"Won't take long." He cut his eyes around, then back to Terri. "Need somewhere private to talk."
She considered arguing, but Brady said he would be quick so talking to him might be more expedient. "Follow me." When Donnie made a move, she started to halt him.
"Wait out here for me," Brady told Donnie, who curled one side of his mouth, annoyed. But the sidekick did as told.
She led Brady to a small meeting room and closed the blinds as he shut the door. Terri turned to him, but was not sitting. He'd said brief, so they could stand.
"I called the prison where Jamie Drake was serving his time. He's out and has been since Fat Tuesday. I couldn't see how Drake would be out early, but couldn't make sense of the Drake sightings. Warden said the paperwork was lost."
That fit with what Nathan had told Terri. Suspicion coating Brady's last comment quirked her own curiosity over the paperwork being lost, but she was glad something had worked in Nathan's favor. She held her peace, waiting for more.
"Warden wasn't too chatty until I told him we had a string of deaths related to the Drake murder since Jamie had been released. Jamie
Drake is officially a suspect."
Terri froze at those words. "What murders do you think he committed?"
"Bennie Larriot, FinMan, and now Hatchet."
"Hatchet? The guy who broke into my house who we arrested?" That couldn't be right and she knew it." We have him in custody."
Brady shook his head. "You had him in custody. He was shot by a long-range rifle on the way out of his arraignment hearing."
"When?"
"At 5:10 p.m. yesterday."
The shot was made right after she'd left for the container. She hadn't seen Nathan all day, not until after 6:00 p.m. That didn't mean he was guilty.
But another death while he slipped around the city didn't look good for him, either.
"What makes you think the shooter is Jamie Drake?" she asked skeptically.
Brady frowned slightly, just enough to let her know she'd sounded a bit too defensive.
"I mean, the first place I'd look would be Marseaux," she explained to cover her slip.
"Not Marseaux's style. He normally has them capped up close, then the body left in an outline. None of these were killed that way. All three claimed to have been interrogated by Nathan Drake. He and Jamie were identical twins."
She narrowed her eyes on him. "Something you failed to mention that night in the morgue."
Brady shrugged, his gaze straying enough to undermine her trust in whatever he deemed worthy of sharing. "I just found out myself when I started suspecting the Drake in prison was after Marseaux's people. The intel we had when I cut the deal with Nathan Drake failed to include that. I'm not holding out. I've shared more than I should have with you."
She couldn't argue with his last point, but she didn't want to accept that Nathan was killing people in cold-blooded murder. Terri studied Brady's face, searching for a sign that he was lying or holding back.
He met her gaze and held it, unflinching.
Pretty convincing, which meant she had to accept what he told her. Even if the victims were criminals, she couldn't abide murder and especially a vigilante. Not after a self-proclaimed, vigilante had murdered her mother, an innocent bystander.
Brady cleared his throat in warning. "We have to find this guy He's a mental case, a dangerous one. And we think he's Nathan, not Jamie."
"Why?"
"I did some digging on the Drake in prison and doubt Jamie would have lived two years in the pen. Added to what we've heard about one running around loose who's supposed to be a ghost, we think it's a better bet that Jamie was killed."