Something wasn’t right. What did the list of names mean?
He doubted they had anything to do with national security. Maybe instead of turning Shanice over to Miles or anyone else, he could do a little investigating of his own. He asked her to trust him, so now he had to display the same level of trust. He needed to make a decision—complete the mission by handing her over with everything she knew, or dig a little deeper to get to the bottom of this mystery?
He already knew what his decision would be. He needed to dig a little deeper.
In a short time, he’d come to care for Shanice, and he would never forgive himself if anything happened to her.
He cleared the numbers and hoped he wasn’t letting his feelings cloud his judgment. Instead, he dialed the number of a friend he could trust. Listening to the phone ring, he cast a glance at the dark alley below. Nothing untoward, no suspicious activity. He was fairly certain they hadn’t been followed, but one could never be too careful.
“Yo, Cruz, what’s up, man?”
Cruz grinned at the sound of his friend’s voice. Some agents, like him and Raheem, had developed relationships over the years that turned into true friendships and they kept in touch. For many of them, the Plan B agents were the only family they had. The benefit was, whenever they needed help with an operation off the books, they had someone to call.
“¿Que bola, acere? How have you been? What are you up to?” he asked.
“Shit.”
Cruz chuckled. “I have a job for you. You interested?”
Raheem was what they called an “information specialist.” He could access all sorts of information, and given enough time, hack just about any corporation’s server. Plan B pulled him into the network after he accessed a tech company’s mainframe and sent millions in direct deposits to their employees after learning the CEO was getting a bonus while the employees received layoffs.
He faced up to ten years in prison for computer fraud, wire fraud, and a host of other charges, but Plan B offered him a job, which he gladly accepted at the age of sixteen. He was much older now and even better at accessing difficult-to-access information.
“Hell yeah, I’m bored as hell.”
“Good. I’ll make sure you have stellar accommodations.”
“Last time you promised stellar accommodations, I was sleeping on a sand floor in the middle of the desert.”
“I promise you won’t experience anything like that. You’ll even have a roof over your head. Can you be in Houston tomorrow?”
“Sure can.”
“I was hoping you’d say that. Bring all your tools. I’ll need you to analyze a list of names. There’s a claim that the names on the list have something to do with national security.”
“Doesn’t sound like you believe that.”
“I don’t. Here’s something you can work on until I see you. I need to find the storage unit for a Dennis Ray, an investigative reporter for the Houston Times. He’s dead now but was married to Karen Sandoval, Senator Joseph Sandoval’s niece.”
“Whoa. What have you gotten yourself into?”
“Hopefully you can help me figure that out. Search everywhere in the Houston area and neighboring cities.”
“Consider it done.”
After their conversation, Cruz went over to the kitchenette and opened one of the drawers next to the refrigerator. He pulled out a butter knife and then walked over to the far right corner of the apartment. Getting down on his knees, he used the knife to pry up a loose floorboard.
He grabbed a handful of cash and a fake ID. He thumbed through a stack of credit cards and found the one that had the same name as the fake ID. Then he replaced the floorboard.
Tomorrow, they were going to Houston, but to keep Shanice safe, he’d call an old friend to fly them there, which would allow him to hide her identity.
A few minutes later, he was sitting on the chair, contemplating everything that needed to be done the next day, when the bathroom door opened.
Shanice stepped out wearing his T-shirt, and he almost swallowed his tongue. He’d never thought of his shirt as sheer, but he could see her hard nipples and the surrounding dark areolas, and she clearly wasn’t wearing any panties. She stood there for a second with the cotton torturing him as it stretched across her hips and bosom.
He gulped.
She smiled faintly and rested her backpack and the clothes she’d been wearing beside the wall. When she bent down, he caught a tantalizing view of the low hemline riding up a little on her round bottom, teasing him by not offering a full glimpse. She was a sexy woman, and his mind ran wild with the possibilities.
She straightened. “The bathroom is all yours.”
Great. He’d make full use of it jacking off in the shower.
14
When Cruz exited the bathroom, refreshed from a cool shower and wearing nothing but a pair of plaid boxers, Shanice was already asleep. She must have been exhausted. She’d been through a lot tonight.
Before going into the bathroom, he’d told her about his plan for them to go back to Houston. She’d looked worried, but he reassured her that everything would be fine and she could trust his friend Raheem.
He took a moment to watch her sleep, curled on her side facing the window and under the thin sheet that she’d pulled over her body. Her lashes brushed her full cheeks, and light filtered between the half-open blinds and sliced across her face in a striped pattern of light and dark. Her pink lips lay partially open in sleep, and he wished he could get rid of the gnawing need to taste them again.
She’d washed her underwear and left the black lacy cheeky drying on the towel rack, making his imagination run wild. Sleeping in his shirt, wearing nothing underneath, didn’t help. He was so aroused, he considered joining her on the bed, and not to get some rest. He’d insisted on sleeping next to her, but now he wasn’t so sure that was a good idea.
Cruz closed the blinds and went to lie on his back on the other side of the mattress. The tantalizing scent of honey and ginger made his blood run hot and tightened his gut. He’d never wanted to sleep with a woman this badly before, and he’d come to the conclusion that it was because he was depriving himself. Normally, he didn’t think anything about having sex with a woman during an operation. He compartmentalized his emotions and considered sex a bonus—part of the benefit of doing what he did. But as much as he wanted Shanice, he hesitated, and now that he knew she was on the right side of the law, that made him hold back even more.
Her innocence gnawed at him. He still didn’t know why he’d told her his real name. That piece of information was usually kept secret, but he’d wanted her to know. Why?
Maybe because he saw the possibility of what he could have with her. Something real. Something permanent.
What the hell was wrong with him? Go to sleep, Cruz.
Thankfully, he did manage to fall asleep but woke up to the sound of quiet whimpers.
It was Shanice. During the night, she’d shifted over to his side of the bed. His vision adjusted to the ambient light, and there was rapid eye movement under her closed lids. She twitched in her sleep and whimpered again.
Her eyes suddenly flew open, and she gasped, staring at him in shock as if she’d forgotten who he was and where they were. Blinking, she focused and the confusion cleared from her eyes.