“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that you believe me. My manager has an apartment in the same building where I live, and he insisted no one could get by the front desk security officer, but I know that’s not true. Hell, I’ve walked in many times while the older man at the desk was busy withouthim seeing me slip past.”
“Did they check the security cameras?” Trac couldn’t imagine it being something the detective would forget, but if he didn’t believe Lakyn was telling the truth, he might not have bothered.
“I asked them, but I’m not sure they did. Of course, by the time I settled down enough to ask the security staff about it myself, the tapes had looped and erased everything fromthe date of the first attempted break-in.”
“First attempt? How many times did this happen?” Trac struggled to keep his anger in check. If they hadn’t already put out a call to her brother, he’d damned well be doing it now.
“I’m not sure how many times they tried, but someone got in on three occasions, and yes, I’m certain about that number. I always secured strings and transparent tape overthe door. I also had the locks changed regularly, and no, I never used the same locksmith twice.” Trac had to admit, he was impressed. It was obvious from Juan’s expression he also admired her moxie.
“Did your intruder take anything,Cariña?”
“He took clothing… things I’d worn. It’s very creepy having someone in your space when you aren’t there, but it’s even worse when they steal panties outof your dirty clothes hamper.” Having your personal space invaded would make anyone feel vulnerable, but having your intimate clothing stolen would add a whole other dimension to the feeling of violation. A shudder moved through her before she took a deep breath and attempted to smile.
“I guess I should be glad he didn’t take the clean stuff.” Her attempt at humor didn’t come close to coveringup her discomfort, but Trac wasn’t going to call her out on it. It was obvious she needed to feel some measure of control in this situation. “Someone also tried to access the safe in my bedroom closet, but they weren’t able to open it.
“The final straw was when a black SUV followed me down the street late one evening. I first noticed it as I walked to a nearby diner to eat, then on my way backto my apartment I saw the same car following me. I knew it was the same vehicle because the tag number was the same. The driver tried to cut me off at the corner outside my building, but I managed to pull myself free when a masked man opened one of the back doors and tried to pull me into the backseat.”
“Did you notify the authorities?” Trac bet he already knew the answer, and honestly, he couldn’tfault her when she shook her head indicating she hadn’t bothered.
“It seemed pointless and would have only delayed my escape.” She detailed how she’d packed and called two different cab companies, setting up a relay that would double back before dropping her off at a car rental agency a few blocks from her apartment. When they’d looked surprised, she’d shrugged. “They probably wouldn’t have expectedme to go to all that trouble, then return so close to home. I was trying to do the unexpected.”
Trac was damned impressed, she’d taken great precautions, but then she’d made a huge error. “Why did you rent the car in your real name?”
“I didn’t want to, but the jerk said I had to use the name on my driver’s license, or he wouldn’t let me have the car I’d already paid for. He wouldn’t return mymoney either, the pissant. So, I drove as far as I could without stopping, hoping to elude them… and well, you know the rest of the story.” He had a sinking feeling Lakyn had left out a lot, but she was fading fast and needed to rest. They’d have plenty of time to get the additional details tomorrow.
Juan excused himself to the restroom, and Trac was relieved to see him grab his cell off thenightstand. His friend would give the team the added information and get them started pulling the police reports. The attempted abduction upped their concern, and they needed to find out who’d added the tracking device to her rental when it appeared she’d done a good job of concealing what agency she planned to use. Micah had detected multiple trackers as soon as they’d driven through the front gate,so he’d sent someone out to check the car before it was towed.
Pulling her against his chest, Trac rubbed circles over her back until he felt her relax and her breathing even out. He wondered how much Lakyn knew about who her older brother actually worked for. His gut told him Cooper Hicks had deliberately kept his kid sister in the dark, hoping what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. From whatthe West brothers had shared, they’d been trying to recruit Cooper for months, and the last they’d heard, he wanted to finish up his latest mission before coming to Texas to speak with Kent and Kyle personally.
Neither he nor Juan would tell Lakyn her brother was a CIA operative unless it became necessary, but something about the black SUV made the hair on the back of his neck stand straightup. He didn’t know what Hicks was working on, but if someone was trying to manipulate him, picking up his sister in a snatch-and-grab would be damned effective. The flip side—Lakyn wasn’t a large woman and wouldn’t have been able to fight off a professional, making him think the attempted kidnapping hadn’t been ordered by anyone with the resources to do it right. Before drifting off to sleep, Tracbriefly wondered what was taking Juan so long, but the contentment of holding Lakyn in his arms quickly pulled him back into sleep.
*
Cooper Hicks slippedback several steps, disappearing into the darkened alley thanks to his black clothing and grease-painted face. Cursing under his breath, he pulled his vibrating phone from his pocket and activate the darkened screen.The damned thing had been vibrating since he’d landed at Heathrow two hours ago, but he’d been hard pressed to get into position and hadn’t taken the time to check it.
Hell, the thing lit up like a fucking Christmas tree before he could even get off the damned plane. The first full-court press of messages had been from his handler, informing him of the change to his mission. The change from apprehensionto a simple photograph was a welcome relief. Photographing the man half the countries in the world were looking for was far easier than collaring the elusive arms dealer without back-up.
Half of those tracking the target wanted to strike a deal, the other half wanted to take him out of business. The change in his objective made him wonder if Uncle Sam hadn’t flipped from one half to the other.Ordinarily, Cooper would be concerned about the strange things happening within the Agency, but he’d already made up his mind and would be leaving as soon as he returned stateside.
His handler and several others up the chain of command were doing everything in their respective powers to keep him on-board, but he was done. He’d hit a wall a few months ago, and in this business—burnout was a deathsentence. It would take him at least a month to finish up paperwork and debrief, but once he was formally released from service, he’d be free and wouldn’t answer to the United States government for the first time since he’d become an adult.
Cooper had cleared all the encoded messages, but it had evidently taken his phone longer to download the messages from regular phone carriers and the internet.Scrolling quickly through the list he felt his heart clench at the number of messages from Lakyn, her manager, and Kyle West. Most of the messages were long enough, he knew he’d have to wait until he returned to his hotel to sort through them, but Kyle’s last message was the one that caught his eye.
We have L. Will keep her safe. Call ASAP.
How the hell had his little sister ended up in fuckingTexas with the men who’d been trying to recruit him for months? Lakyn’s ability to walk through a shit storm and come out smelling like a rose never ceased to amaze him. Shaking his head, Cooper slipped the phone back into his pocket and stepped silently out of the alley just in time to see a black Towne car approach. With a little luck, he’d get the pictures he needed and be back in his hotelwithin the hour.
Now all I need is a bit of little sister’s luck.