Edge of Control: An Edge Security Novel (Edge Security Series Book 1) (13 page)

Jake frowned. “That’s not helpful.”

Her smile widened. “Actually, it is. The real shipments of art go right to a small gallery downtown. The other shipments, which come much more regularly, land in a warehouse on Quai-Bickerdike. He also never exports from the gallery, but he does have shipments picked up from the warehouse. And those usually go across the border to the States.”

“Hmmm. Anything else?”

“The pricing rarely changes for anything going to or from that warehouse. No matter how many items he’s listed.”

“So far, nothing illegal.”

“True,” she said. “But, he also buys bulk food and water the day before a shipment across the border. I think he’s shipping something live.”

Jake’s eyes narrowed. “Human trafficking?”

She nodded.

His lips compressed as he surveyed what she’d found. “It’s not enough for the police.”

Her shoulders slumped.

“But it’s enough for me,” he said. “Let’s go check out that warehouse.”

She clenched her fist. “Yes.” She stood up and winced when her weight landed on her left foot. Blood spotted the floor all around it.

Jake saw her foot and sighed. “Why would you sit here for two hours while your foot was bleeding?”

She shrugged. “I’ll take care of it when I get home.”

He stood up. “Sit back down. I’ll be right back.” He left the room with quick strides.

She stared after him for a moment. What was he doing? She shrugged and closed Mike’s laptop. She should probably drop it off to him before she left. She snagged her heels from under the table. Blood soaked the inside of the left one. She was pretty sure they were ruined. And secretly she was glad. She never wanted to wear a pair of heels again.

She’d only taken one wincing step toward the door when Jake opened it again, holding a first-aid kit. He scowled. “I told you to sit and wait.”

She scowled right back at him, standing her ground. “I’m fine.”

He walked over to her and stood inches away. “You’re bleeding all over the floor.”

Dani was tall for a woman at five-foot-eight, and Jake only stood at six feet, but his powerful build made her feel small and vulnerable. She didn’t like it. She lifted her chin and reluctantly moved back to her chair.

She held out her hands for the first-aid kit, but he ignored her and knelt at her feet. She could tell his leg bothered him, since he didn’t move with his usual grace.

“How’s your leg?” she asked.

“Fine,” he said tersely, as he lifted her bloody foot.

She shifted her weight and held the arms of the chair, forcing herself to be still.

“You don’t like talking about it, do you?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Not much to say.”

She raised her eyebrows and waited.

He sighed. “It aches, but that’s nothing new. I’m fine.”

The tough warrior who knelt at her feet did not like admitting any weakness, she thought. She could understand that and let the matter drop.

He inspected her foot. “You did a number on this one,” he said. “I think there’s something in there.” He rummaged through the kit and pulled out a pair of tweezers. He held her ankle in a gentle but firm grip, and eased something out of the sole of her foot.

“A piece of glass. It’s not big enough to need a stitch, but just big enough to be a problem if not looked after properly.” He took out antiseptic and bandages, and proceeded to doctor her foot.

She almost protested, but knew it would be useless. Instead she leaned back and let someone else take care of her. It was a strange feeling to have someone looking after her, even for something so minor.
 

“Why are you doing this?” she asked.

“Because feet can be awkward to do yourself.” He looked up and studied her face. “Mostly because you were my partner tonight. You stay with your partner till the end. No matter what.” He started packing up the first-aid kit.

She hadn’t encountered much of that kind of loyalty in her life. She was sure her parents had been loyal to her, but they’d died in a car accident when she was ten and her memories of them were fading.

Chuck and Tassia were her two mainstays in life. She knew they were loyal to her, but she couldn’t imagine either doing something like this.

“Is that what they taught you in SEAL training?”

He paused. “How’d you know I was a SEAL?”

“Hacker girl, remember?” She smiled. “I only snooped when Mike told me to crack into E.D.G.E. Don’t worry, I didn’t read your file.”

Not all of it
, she thought.

He nodded. “BUD/s is the first SEAL training course and one of the toughest things I’ve ever done. Rhys was my swim buddy. The first lesson drilled into us is you never, ever leave your swim buddy. You eat, do PT, and even go to the head with your swim buddy. You never leave them behind.”

He shrugged. “It’s ingrained in me.” He stood up and rubbed a hand over the stubble on his chin. “I’m beat. Let’s get out of here.”

She stood up, pleased to find her foot ached a lot less with the glass out of it. It still throbbed, but it was manageable pain as far as she was concerned. She followed Jake into the hall and back to her office, where she grabbed her serviceable coat. She eased her feet into her black biker boots and zipped them up. So much more comfortable than those devil heels.

Jake watched her. “Nice look.”

“What can I say? I’m a fashionista at heart.”

He laughed. “Let’s go. I’ll walk you to your car.”

She walked past him to the elevator and punched the button. “Don’t worry about it, I’m fine.”

She could feel him watching her back but she didn’t turn to look at him.

He exhaled deeply. “Dani,” he said. “How are you getting home?”

She pressed her lips together and turned around. “Usually I take the bus, okay? But I don’t live far. Seriously, I’m good.”

He rubbed his face again. “I’ve got a rental. I’ll drive you.” He held up his hand. “I’m too tired to argue. Let’s go.”

“So what does a fighter and genius hacker do in her spare time?” Jake asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“Game and read.”

Jake looked over at her. “Gaming I can see, but reading? I figured you’d be jumping out of planes or something else high adrenaline.”

Dani laughed without meaning to. “No. I’m pretty boring. I love books.”

He asked about her favorite books and told her his. Soon they were arguing over whether e-readers were better than paper.

It was close to four in the morning by the time Jake pulled into a spot in front of her building and put the car in park. Awkwardness descended like a smothering blanket. She unsnapped her seatbelt and grabbed her door handle. “Thanks for—”

His hand on her arm froze her. “Wait.”

She paused but didn’t face him.

“I wanted to apologize about the kiss earlier.”

Dani closed her eyes briefly before sitting back and facing him. She forced a nonchalant expression on her face. “Don’t bother. I know it was just for cover.”

Jake nodded. “But I still want to apologize for it. I couldn’t think of anything else to do when I saw that guard.”

Dani shrugged and kept her tone even. “Well, at least Rhys wasn’t your partner tonight.”

His lips twitched. “So we’re okay?”

She could see his relief that she wasn’t going to make a big deal about the kiss. Did he think she wanted to be his girlfriend? Or that she’d start proclaiming her love? It was one kiss. Yes, a hot one, but still just a kiss.

“Sure. Just don’t do it again,” she said.

He frowned. “That doesn’t sound like we’re okay.”

She rolled her eyes and lied smoothly. “Please. I’ve forgotten all about it. It’s not like it was that great.”

His jaw set. “You were the one who moaned.”

She couldn’t believe he’d brought that up. She shoved the car door open. “Yes. I’m a good actress.” She swung her legs out and stood up, thankful to be out in the open.

“Wait.” He leaned over the passenger seat. “Look, I don’t want to fight. I just wanted to clear the air. The kiss? It won’t happen again. I just wanted to say…for someone who hasn’t done undercover work before, you did really well. And that’s a compliment of the highest order.” He smiled. “I’d work with you again, hacker girl.”

The compliment didn’t soothe her. “But only if you had to, right?” She shook her head. “Goodnight, Jake.”

He muttered something before rattling off some numbers. “That’s my cell. Call me tomorrow. I’ll drive you to work.”

She arched a brow. “We’re not partners anymore, Jake. There’s no need to coddle me.”

He said the numbers again. “Just in case. Remember them.”

“Fine. But I won’t be calling. I can look after myself.” She shut the door in his face.

Her exit was ruined when she stepped on her hurt foot and winced at the sudden rush of pain. She’d forgotten about it. She pushed it aside and hobbled to the front door, digging her key out. By the time she’d unlocked it, the car shut off behind her and Jake’s door opened.

She huffed a breath. “I do not need your help, Jake. I’m—”

Strong arms lifted her into the air, literally sweeping her off her feet and cutting off her words.

“I know you can do this yourself,” he said. “But I’ve had a long day and I want to make sure you get to your apartment okay.” His scowl said he wanted to be doing anything but looking after her. She opened her mouth to protest and he cut her off. “Your friend was kidnapped by a powerful mafia family. I’m going to see you get upstairs and make sure your place is secure. Then I’ll leave and you won’t have to deal with me again.”

She snapped her mouth shut, not knowing what to say as he carried her to the elevator and to her apartment on the fourth floor. At the door he set her gently on her feet. When she opened it, he held her back and stalked inside, his weapon in his hand.

She hobbled in, not seeing anyone. He came out of the bathroom and scowled at her. “You were supposed to wait in the hall.”

Dani just waved him onward as she made her way to the couch, collapsing on it while Jake checked out the kitchen and her room. Exhaustion dragged at her and her eyes closed.

Something was tapping her cheek.

“Wake up, Dani.”

Jake’s deep voice. She cracked her eyelids. He crouched in front of her. She lay sideways on the couch in the fetal position, a blanket over her. His smile deepened.

“Don’t you ever get tired?” she asked. It didn’t seem fair that she could barely hold her eyes open and he looked as if he’d had eight hours of sleep.

“I’m tired,” he said. “I’m just used to dealing with it.” He paused and studied her for a moment. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Do I need coffee for it?”

He shook his head. “I’m just wondering about your family. You haven’t mentioned them, but we need to know if there’s anyone else connected to you that the Rusakov family can find.”

“No family. My parents died when I was ten,” she said shortly. “Besides, I doubt Dmitri remembers me.”

“And what about Vladimir?”

She stiffened and pulled the blanket more firmly around her. “He didn’t see me tonight.”

Jake tilted his head. “You’re scared of him.”

She scowled. “Well, I’m not stupid.”

He shook his head slowly, his eyes never leaving her face. “No. It’s more than that.”

“I’m tired. You should go.”

He moved to sit beside her on the couch. “How did you become a hacker?”

She blew out a breath. “If I tell you, will you leave?”

“If you want me to.”

Oh, she wanted him to, and yet his presence comforted her. Her shoulders slumped. What harm would it be to answer a few questions? Chuck was always telling her she should open up to people.

“Computers were my escape,” she said. “My foster families never really wanted me, just the extra cash they got for taking me in.”

He nodded. “How did you meet the Rusakovs?”

“A friend.” She scowled. “I
thought
he was a friend. Turns out the Rusakovs wanted more hackers working for them. They paid him to troll for some. He found me.”

“I’m sorry,” Jake said. “So Dmitri approached you?”

She yawned and shook her head. “His son, Vladimir. The charmer.”

Jake stilled. “He charmed you?”

She hugged herself. “Is this really necessary? I was fourteen and Vladimir was nineteen. I had a crush and he used it to get what he wanted. I was stupid, okay?”

Jake rested a hand on her knee and squeezed. “You weren’t stupid,” he said. “You were young and alone.”

She bit her lip and stared at her hands. “Is the inquisition over?”

“When did you find the courage to leave?” he asked.

So it wasn’t over. She blamed being tired for the reason she didn’t fight answering his questions. In a way it felt good to answer, as if something inside was cracking open and letting in fresh air. She could breathe just a bit easier.

“The first time, I didn’t leave—I got sent to juvie. Spent six months there. It sucked. By the end, I was determined to turn over a new leaf.” She swallowed.

Jake took her cold hand in one of his and rubbed his calloused thumb over her palm. Back and forth, over and over.
 

She took a shuddering breath. “Vladimir found me after I got out and said the Rusakovs owned me. I could either work as a hacker or a whore.” She shrugged. “I had no one to turn to. So I chose computers. Not long after, Vladimir decided I should be one of his girlfriends.”

Jake’s thumb stilled.

She might as well tell him everything. “I
dated
Vladimir for two years. I hated every minute of it. I told myself at least I wasn’t a whore.” She pressed her lips together. “But I was just lying to myself.”

Jake continued to rub her palm and she stared at it, not seeing their hands, but the nightmare of that time.

“I started taking on more and more dangerous jobs for the Rusakovs. I think…I think I
wanted
to be caught.”

She lifted her head. “One night, I broke into a financial company to get into their servers. I could have done it from a secure computer elsewhere, but I wanted, no
needed,
the thrill of breaking into the building.” She shrugged. “I tripped an alarm.” She smiled. “Chuck was the detective in charge of my case.”