“What the hell were you thinking?” Jinx remembered the exact words he’d shouted to the man…
To Louis Grimshaw, a superstar in training who’d lost his nerve on his first mission. A guy who’d disappeared shortly after that incident and had never been in the field with Ali or Jinx or War again.
“He’ll have green eyes,” Jinx said as he gazed at the body.
“Louis,” War confirmed.
Jinx nodded. His gaze turned to Ali. She’d put on jeans and a loose blouse. Her canvas shoes. He’d dressed, too, as fast as possible, and rushed with War to see the body.
Louis was tied to them all.
“You worked with him?” Landon’s surprise was clear.
“Right before you came on board as handler,” Jinx confirmed. It had been back in the day when Landon’s current supervisor had been in charge. Landon had been doing more of the background work. Jinx kept his voice low, even though Landon had cleared out the men and women on the cleanup crew as soon as Jinx and Ali had appeared. “After that mission, he was sent in for more psych evals. War and I told your boss that the guy didn’t have what it took. He couldn’t handle the pressure, and he proved to be a risk in the field. From what we know, he was discharged soon after.”
“I remember.” War’s jaw was tight. “When I left service, I also heard word he’d gone freelance. That for the right price, he was taking contract work for Uncle Sam…and other interested parties.”
“I’ll be checking that,” Landon assured them. “In the meantime, my crew found his ride parked down the road. He had left a hotel room key in the glove box.” His lips pursed. “Guessing you’ll be wanting to see that room?”
“Damn straight, we will,” Jinx confirmed.
Louis. He hadn’t thought about the man in years.
“If this guy is a rogue sniper, one we trained, I want everything kept confidential, you understand what I’m saying?” Landon pushed.
Oh, Landon was clear. He wanted it all swept under the rug.
“Your wife had better not be reporting this story on the evening news,” Landon added with a glare at War.
Jinx shook his head. “You don’t talk about his wife,” he warned.
Too late.
War’s shoulders had rolled back. “My wife can report on any fucking thing she wants. You got someone bad, someone dirty who decides to open fire on people? That shit will make the news. That shit is a problem. That shit—”
“We never spoke.” Ali was still staring at the dead man.
Everyone’s attention slid to her.
“Not on that one mission. I was doing intel work. My job was to get inside the government funded research facility in Prague and download documents. I saw this man once, and it was just in passing. After everything went to hell, Jinx and War made sure he got out of the field. I never talked to him.” She bit her lower lip. “I don’t buy that he suddenly became obsessed with me after that. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Obsessions don’t make sense. Emotions don’t always make sense.” It was War who spoke, and his voice had turned thoughtful. “Sometimes, emotions take control, and even the strong can’t stop them.”
“Search the hotel,” Landon ordered curtly. “I’ll handle the scene here. I’m trying to keep the local authorities out of this as much as possible.”
Good luck with that.
Jinx turned away from the body.
Chapter Sixteen
“His hotel is right across the street from my condo unit.” Ali stood at the door to room 704. “I’m not thinking that’s a coincidence.”
Jinx didn’t think it was a coincidence, either. In his book, very little was.
He’d donned gloves. So had she. Not like it was their first time to search a room.
“Housekeeping,” Jinx called out loudly and tapped his knuckles against the door.
Ali frowned at him.
“Just making sure no one is waiting in the room for us,” he murmured. There had been no sound from inside the room in response to his housekeeping call so…
He tapped the keycard against the lock. The light flashed green. Carefully, he eased open the door and stepped inside.
The room was dim. The curtains were drawn, concealing any view, and the silence in the place seemed heavy. They passed the small closet, and through the open door, Jinx saw the duffel bag.
He reached for it.
“Jinx?”
He turned at Ali’s call, but didn’t drop the bag. He brought it with him. She was standing near the small desk that had been positioned near the bed.
She stared down at the surface of the desk. Or rather, at the pictures on the surface.
Pictures of her. A picture from the first day, when Jinx had met her on the beach. She was wearing the same red bikini, and she lounged back against her chair.
Another shot showed her at Ramsey’s—with Jinx. They were standing close together. It looked like they were either about to kiss or scream at each other. Maybe both.
The third shot? Right outside of Jinx’s beach house. He was standing beside her. A red circle had been drawn over Jinx’s head. “Well, that certainly clears up one thing.” He glanced at Ali. “I think it’s safe to assume those bullets were meant for me.”
He dropped the duffel bag onto the bed. Opened it up…
Fuck me.
“Item two is also cleared up…” He pushed his gloved hand into the bag and lifted a wad of cash. “I don’t know that Louis was obsessed with you, but it does seem that he was doing some freelance work.”
“OhmyGod.” Ali grabbed the bag. “How much cash is in there?”
A lot. “Enough to kill for,” he said simply. Jinx suspected that was exactly what had happened…
Louis hadn’t been on the beach because he was obsessed with Ali. He’d been there because he’d been hired to do a job. That job…
It had been to kill me.
“Who hired him?” Ali’s voice notched up. “Dammit. I told you, I think this was from someone inside the organization. Someone who knew about Louis and the work he did.”
Shoddy work.
“Someone who wanted to use Louis,” Ali added. “If only we’d been able to talk to him! To question him!”
Not like they could question the dead. “Keep searching the room. There could be more here for us to find.” He also wanted the room scanned by a crime scene team. Maybe Louis had met with his “employer” in that room. Maybe there were prints. Maybe there was—
“Cyrus,” Ali said, voice choking.
Jinx’s head whipped up. Not that asshole again.
She’d gone back to the pictures on the desk. She’d lifted one—the one of her at the beach. She was squinting and staring at the photo. “I-I think that’s him.”
In a flash, Jinx was at her side.
“The guy in the chair, to the right.” Ali’s hand was shaking, so the picture trembled. “I don’t even remember that man being there…”
Jinx remembered him. “He was looking at your ass.”
“What?”
“The dick in the red shirt with the baseball cap…he was looking at your ass on the beach. You stood up, and I saw him do a double-take.” It had pissed him off then. It enraged him now. “That sonofabitch was right there!”