B00MV3HMDW_EBOK (20 page)

“Fuck me.”

Chapter Sixteen

“R
yland had taken precautions and tied up all the loose ends. He had ended Travis Bowers’ existence in all military records and anything that could have connected him to his past. He made sure his family, friends, and the government thought he’d died that day the IED had wiped out his unit.” Taryn was holding a hand to her forehead while leaning an elbow on the passenger side door. Ethan was driving and listening in on the conversation that she was having with Crest over the vehicle’s Bluetooth hands free cellular connection and additional surround sound. “He became someone else. If we can find out why, perhaps that’s the key to locating him.”

“Taryn, he’s substituting you for his sister Yvette,” Fallon stated, having joined Crest in the conversation. Taryn could picture them sitting together in Crest’s office as they stared at the desk phone and she grimaced. As much as she might harbor resentment for the way Fallon had treated Ethan, the profiler wasn’t half bad at her job. “I said it before and I’ll say it again. Ryland doesn’t want to hurt you. It’s almost as if he’s placed you above everything else and has been leading you down this road. He wanted you to find out who he was in his past life. Don’t get me wrong, I still think it was a coincidence that he took the contract out on Jax’s wife. Fate can be a fickle thing.”

“What are your thoughts?”

Taryn thought about Crest’s question and looked over at Ethan, and although he was concentrating on the road she knew he’d heard every word exchanged. He looked over her way and he removed his hand from the wheel, exposing his palm. She let go of her forehead and shifted her stance, sliding her fingers into his. She took a deep breath, calming her heart rate and gathering her thoughts that had been scattered since seeing Ryland’s photo.

“I think Ryland took Sabrina and then killed their mother and father.” Taryn recalled how Ryland had initially operated in his earlier kills. “Let’s face it, Ryland used numerous
Modus Operandi
over his career and it wasn’t until the last five years that his preferred technique became long range shooting.”

“Why?” Crest asked, wanting Taryn to keep talking things through. He’d gotten into this habit long ago and it usually worked, but she honestly couldn’t come up with a reason. “Start at the beginning of the Bowers family downfall. Why take Sabrina?”

“She was in danger,” Taryn surmised, trying to place herself in her half sister’s life. “Sabrina was in danger and she was the only one that Ryland cared about. Alice said so herself. It wouldn’t surprise me if Ryland had kept tabs on Sabrina and if she had been in danger, he would have come for her.”

“Working that assumption, why would he return five years later to murder Charles Bowers?”

“Because he didn’t,” Taryn replied, contradicting what she’d said previously as another puzzle piece fit into place. She sat straighter and looked over at Ethan. “Yvette did. We need to find out why.”

“Good work,” Crest stated, exchanging a few words with Fallon that were muffled. “Jax will arrive in the morning to help with the investigation. Check in tomorrow morning and we’ll reevaluate any information that comes through from my contacts in Washington. It seems that Arthur Bowers has a few high-level connections. I’ll have more intelligence for you throughout the evening.”

The call was disconnected and silence reverberated through the Pathfinder. Taryn knew what they needed to do, but she wasn’t so sure that Ethan would be on board. There were times during investigations that boundaries needed to be pushed, but it was rare that they out and out broke them.

“We need access to Art Bowers’ files. Regardless that this points to Ryland, Art knows something.”

Ethan didn’t reply right away but instead continued to use his thumb to caress the back of her hand. Taryn knew he was considering the pros and cons of what she was saying, but in all reality they didn’t have a choice but to do a little bit of recon, and the only question was if they should wait for Jax. It might be better to do this without him, just to keep his name cleared of it were anything to go wrong. After all, Art had invested in a state of the art security system and armed guards. This would be far from a cakewalk.

“You and I both know Bowers wouldn’t keep any type of valuable information in a filing cabinet. He’d use a safe and one that isn’t easy to crack, even if we can find it.” Ethan finally pulled the vehicle into the hotel parking lot, but instead of going around to the side like usual, he pulled up to the front door. “Something else you need to remember. Whatever we find would be inadmissible in court.”

“You and I both know this isn’t going to court.” Taryn didn’t bother to unfasten her seatbelt. He wasn’t leaving here without her. “If you think you’re doing this on your own, you’re wrong.”

Ethan’s rich laughter filled the air and although Taryn didn’t know what was so funny, the lighthearted way it sounded relaxed her. They were so close to figuring this out, which meant actually going forward with their lives. It would be interesting to see where this was headed between them during their daily lives instead of a hotel room.

“I’m not doing anything by myself, especially breaking into a guarded mansion that has as much security as I’m sure Crest’s penthouse does.” Ethan clicked the button on her seatbelt and let it slide across her breasts. “I need to run out for some things. I’ll be right back.”

The way Ethan had lowered his voice caused Taryn’s body to instantly respond. How could that be when not one minute ago they were working a case…and one that pertained to her family? They’d uncovered something astonishing, and yet with just a few words Ethan had her usually one-track mind switching in mid-stream.

“Is there a reason I can’t go with you?” Taryn asked, pushing the issue. If he were going to buy things that pertained to their new sexual encounters, then she’d like to be privy to them. She slowly smiled, indicating she liked where this was headed. “I might like to buy a few things myself.”

“Squid, the best thing you can do for yourself at the moment is go into the hotel, up to your room, and continue working the case,” Ethan said softly, although the words were like ice water. Work the case? He was giving her fucking whiplash with his work slash personal bullshit. “When I return, we’ll map out how we can access Bowers’ residence without getting our asses arrested or worse.”

“You can scour the adult stores around here, Ethan, but they won’t have what you need.” Taryn opened the door and swung her boots down on the concrete. She held up her cardkey, the one that he’d had in his back pocket. She bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. “I’ll think about letting you in. Depends on my mood.”

With that Taryn slammed the door, knowing full well that when Ethan came to her hotel room his palm would be itching to connect with her ass. The thing was, her ass was just as eager for that type of play as well. If she had to instigate Ethan to get what she wanted, so be it. He’d always liked her sass and it was apparent he enjoyed it in this aspect as well. She didn’t bother to look behind her as she waltzed into the hotel. Things were finally falling into place, and with luck she and Ethan would be back home soon to see where this road was leading them.

*   *   *   *

“Hello?”

Taryn had been looking over the blueprints of Art Bowers’ residence and taking notes of the security system when her cell phone had rung. She held it to her ear as she noticed where the video cameras were installed on the drawings. It was nothing that she or Ethan would have to worry about, although they would need Jax to cover the outer area where the guards would most likely be stationed.

“Are you having any success with your genealogy, Taryn?”

The designs in her hand fell to the bed as her entire body stilled, hearing a voice that she hadn’t heard in over a year. Ryland. He’d reached out just as Fallon said and the group had thought. Taryn hadn’t expected it to be by phone though. She would have thought he’d show up in person, especially since she was in his neck of the woods.

“As a matter of fact, I am.” Taryn had made sure her voice didn’t tremble or that her tone didn’t give way to the anger she was feeling at this game of chess he seemed to be hell bent on playing. She situated herself against the pillows on her bed before continuing, damning herself for not having the equipment needed to trace this call at her fingertips. “Though I am unhappy at the fact that Trevor Neonni killed our sister. Did you order the hit?”

Taryn knew her question was out in left field, but she wanted to keep Ryland off guard. He had to have known his rival had a hand in murdering their sister, but it remained to be seen what information Ryland would share with her. He certainly hadn’t been forthcoming.

“If you have to ask me that then you haven’t been thorough in your investigation. Tsk-tsk. I thought you were smarter than your colleagues. Perhaps I need to alter my perception of you?”

“You came for Sabrina because you loved her,” Taryn said, stating the obvious. Was that what he wanted to hear? Ryland didn’t strike her as needing his ego stroked. “You thought you were saving her from something, but what I’m having trouble figuring out is why you would drag her into your life when you know how your life will end.”

“Love is a strong word.” Ryland paused as if thinking on how much to share, but Taryn knew it was a ruse. He’d had this call mapped out for a while and was stringing her along. “I did what I could to help Sabrina get out from under Charles’ hold on her. He would have destroyed her had I left her there and I felt a sense of…responsibility toward her. I guess you could say I gave her the skill needed for survival. As for Neonni, you tell me why someone with his lackluster skillset would be hired to murder our sister.”

Flashes of cognition materialized in Taryn’s mind as Ryland continued to divulge only what he wanted to share with her. He must have felt that Sabrina’s soul was already dead to give her the life of Yvette Capre. What had happened to that innocence young girl in the pictures?

“Watch your back, Taryn.”

Like always, Ryland disappeared as if he’d never placed the call to begin with. But he had and now that Taryn had heard his voice, she also knew that he wouldn’t hurt her unless she pushed him into it. Whether or not it was her connection to Sabrina, Fallon was correct in assuming there was a
kindness
to his voice. Taryn knew her teammates wouldn’t comprehend that and it by no means would stop her from taking down a man who had numerous deaths on his hands. It
was
ammunition for later and she had to wonder why Ryland would give her that peace of mind for her arsenal.

“Squid, open up,” Ethan called out, knocking on the door.

Taryn didn’t bother to play around with their earlier conversation, but instead quickly got up from the bed and let Ethan inside. He was carrying a couple of bags, one of them having Chinese food in it, and took them directly over to the desk. She ignored her curiosity, knowing that Ryland’s call took precedence.

“Ethan.” He had already set down the packages and had been unloading the Chinese containers when her voice caught his attention. He looked over his shoulder and his entire body tensed at the worry that had to be etched on her face. He slowly laid the chopsticks onto the hard surface of the desk and then turned to face her. “Ryland just called.”

Taryn briefly covered the conversation and then waited for his opinion. He usually caught something that she overlooked, especially lately when the topic came to Ryland. He took the chair and leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees as she sat on the end of the bed. Regardless that Ryland had more or less indicated he wouldn’t harm her, at least for now, she felt vulnerable and not in the way she liked Ethan to make her feel.

“Go back over what he said word for word,” Ethan instructed, closing his eyes as she did as he asked. “One more time.”

Taryn didn’t allow her impatience to impede what Ethan was trying to locate. She slowly and methodically recited what she could recall. When he didn’t say anything right away, annoyance settled in. She stood and picked up one of the food containers and chopsticks, then situated herself back on the bed against the pillows. Food was better than gnawing on a pencil.