Edge of Control: An Edge Security Novel (Edge Security Series Book 1) (7 page)

The doors opened to reveal a large sign announcing the Volga Group, and another for the real estate company that shared the floor with them. More communal washrooms stood between the two companies. Volga Group was to the left and had glass doors with a keycard panel. The doors stood open at the moment.

Her heart thumped hard inside her chest and she discreetly wiped her palms on her skirt.

For Tassia.

Modern black leather-and-steel furniture and abstract art featuring slashes of red decorated the lobby. Was this the kind of art they imported? Most of it looked like an angry child had thrown paint on a canvas.

She minced her way to the receptionist sitting behind an imposing black lacquered desk. The woman wore a duplicate of Tassia’s little black suit, though she seemed much more comfortable in it than Dani did.

The receptionist was of Asian descent, and had her black hair swept into an elegant twist at the back of her head. Something Dani would never be able to do on her own. She looked to be about Dani’s age and had a distinctive mole on her jawline.

“May I help you?” she asked.

“
Oui
,” Dani said, speaking in French. “I’m here to see Mr. Taylor.” Dani checked her watch.

“I’m sorry,” the receptionist said and tilted her head. “We don’t have anyone by that name who works here.”

Dani widened her eyes and took a step back. “You don’t?” She looked around as if only now taking in the room. As she did so, she noted the lack of security cameras inside the reception area. Excellent.

“
Zut alors
!” Dani said, expressing surprise. “I believe I’m in the wrong office. I’m supposed to be next door.
Pardonnez-moi
.”

She left and pretended to go into the real estate offices before taking the stairs down to the lobby. No cameras in the stairwell and the doors weren’t locked. Hopefully they’d stay that way after closing.

She strode out into the sunshine, her shoulders loosening with each step away from the building. She walked to the nearest cafe with a view of the building to grab another latte. Step one of her plan was complete. She figured she had a few hours to wait before implementing step two. Patience was a necessary virtue for a thief.

Patience was a necessary virtue for a sniper, and also apparently for an E.D.G.E. operator staking out a building. At least Jake wasn’t freezing his nuts off in the mountains of the Hindu Kush, waiting motionless for the enemy to appear.

This afternoon, he and Rhys sat in the back of a white bakery van parked near a cafe, watching and listening to the Volga Group across the street. A bank of computers and high-tech equipment decorated one side of the van. Mike, the IT guru, had explained how everything worked and then left them to it. Both of them had used enough tech that they were completely comfortable with the surveillance toys.

Jake stretched his legs and sighed. Even though he was warm, could move, and had his buddy to talk to, he’d still rather be in the Hindu Kush with his team, doing something worthwhile. Something his country needed. Watching a company to see if anything illegal was going on just didn’t compare, no matter how comfortable he was.

“Leg bothering you?” Rhys asked. He sat in the other chair watching his own set of monitors.

“Nah,” Jake said. He’d never admit how much it ached, but Rhys knew that. “I’m bored and wondering what we’re really doing here.”

“We’re trying out the life of a spy. And I, for one, like this luxury.” Rhys slurped his coffee and rested his feet on the table holding the monitors. “You have to admit, it’s nothing to sneer at.”

Jake narrowed his eyes. “You’re not serious. Do you really think we should stay with these overblown PIs?”

“They’re more than that,” Rhys said. “They saved our asses last year, remember? They can’t be all bad. Besides, we can’t be on the teams forever.”

“No, but we can work
with
the teams.”

Rhys snorted. “You like working behind a desk?”

Jake stiffened and focused on the monitors, looking for his targets. “That isn’t the point.”

“We could do good work here too,” Rhys said.

“You mean
me
,” Jake replied without looking at his friend. His leg ramped up the pain as if in protest and he gritted his teeth. “We’re going back. The team is almost finished training for the next deployment and you’re going with them. And I…I’ll do whatever needs to be done.”

Rhys sipped his coffee. “Just don’t—”

Something on the monitor caught Jake’s eye. “What the hell?”

Rhys’s feet hit the deck. “What’s up?”

Jake watched the monitor closely, following the sleek brunette coming toward them. His lips twitched when she wobbled on her spiky heels. Not practical, but they showcased some amazing legs. She carried a large tote bag. Why did women have such giant purses?

“Earth to College?” Rhys interrupted his wayward thoughts.

Jake snapped his mind into gear. There definitely weren’t distractions like this in the Hindu Kush. He pointed to the screen. “Isn’t that the new IT tech? What’s her name?” He paused as if he hadn’t memorized everything he could find in her very small file. “Danielle. Danielle Everett.”

Rhys glanced sideways at him and raised an eyebrow.

“What?” Jake asked.

Rhys didn’t bother to answer, and they watched her enter the cafe near the van’s location.

“Why would she change her clothes and come across town for coffee?” Jake asked.

Rhys sent him another sideways look. “She changed clothes?”

“She was wearing a man’s suit this morning.” Jake blanked his face while Rhys continued to watch him knowingly. “We’re trained to notice details, remember? Anyway, she had to do a task for me this morning.”

Rhys leaned back in his chair, his lips twitching. “A task?”

“What? Are you a freaking parrot today?” Jake watched Dani stroll into the coffee shop and ignored Rhys’s smirk. Once Dani was out of sight, he let out a deep breath and focused. “Something’s off,” he said.

Rhys dropped his smirk. “She got caught hacking E.D.G.E. files two days ago, and now she’s coming out of the same building we’re staking out?” He shook his head. “That doesn’t look good. We should call it in.”

Jake agreed, but paused a moment. “She’ll most likely be fired if we do.” He wasn’t sure why that bothered him, but the image of her in the gym yesterday morning popped into his mind. She’d been worried about something, and that had been before she’d gotten into the office. “Wait out on this one, Lucky. I want to see how it plays.”

Rhys studied his face for a moment. “Roger that.”

Jake rubbed his leg. “I suddenly feel like a coffee.”

Rhys grinned. “Good hunting.”

As Jake entered the cafe, he stepped to the side and scanned the occupants, knowing better than to pause in a doorway silhouetted against the light. It was a diner-style cafe with creamy walls and a hardwood floor, hosting a long bar with stools, booths against the far wall and a few tables near the front.

Seven people sat in the room. Four in the booths, two separately at the bar, and one lady in a tight black suit with great legs sitting at a table by the front window.

Dani held a book in front of her face, a romance novel with some bare-chested guy in a kilt on the cover. He almost snorted. He continued to the bar as if he hadn’t seen her, and ordered a coffee from the waitress.

“To stay?” she asked, her French accent thick.

Jake thought about it. From the corner of his eye he could see Dani’s stiff posture. She looked like a scared rabbit. She’d probably have a heart attack if he stayed. It would be smarter to leave and then see what she did after knowing he was in the area. Would she scurry away? He found that he wanted her to be here for a legitimate reason. He wanted to go and ask her.

“To go,” he said gruffly. He tried never to let emotions play into his decisions. He’d learned that even before the Navy.

He grabbed the coffee and meant to walk out the door, but instead found himself standing in front of her table.

“Dani,” he said, wondering what the hell he was doing.

Her shoulders slumped and he wanted to laugh. Then she straightened and lowered the book. “Hey, Jake. What are you doing here?”

“My hotel is around the corner,” he lied. “Just stopping in for a coffee before heading off to that assignment you’re not supposed to know about.”

She blushed and he liked the spark of fire in her eyes. “What about you?” he asked.

“I’m here for the amazing
poutine
,” she said. As if on cue, a waitress brought over a plate of thick-cut french fries with gravy and…

“Is that cheese?” he asked, sidetracked by the delicious smell of the gravy.

“It’s
poutine
,” she said, pronouncing it
puht-in.
“Fries, light gravy, and cheese curds.” She pushed the plate toward him. “Try it.”

He sat down in the chair opposite her and picked up a crisp fry dripping with gravy and ensnared in melted cheese. “Cheese curds?”

“
Poutine
’s a Canadian staple. Right up there with maple syrup, bacon, and beer. You have to try it.”

He grinned at her enthusiasm for what looked like a heart attack on a plate, and ate the fry. The savory flavor exploded in his mouth and his stomach rumbled for more. He snagged another fry. Dani smiled at him. “I told you,” she said, pulling her plate back.

“You went home sick,” Jake said. He almost cursed himself when the light went out of her eyes and her smile disappeared. He hadn’t meant to blurt it out like that, but he had to know why she’d lied about going home.

Her eyes flicked away and then back, assessing him. “My friend is missing,” she said, a hint of desperation in her voice.

He went on alert. “Have you told the police?”

She nodded. “There’s not enough evidence for them to do anything right now.”

“So
you’re
going to do something.” His lips firmed. “Something illegal?”

Her chin jutted out. “I’m just waiting to meet someone who might be able to help. There’s nothing illegal about that.”

Instinct told him she was holding back information—a lot of information. He looked around the diner. This was not the place to question her.

“I’ve only been at E.D.G.E. a couple of days,” he said, “but it seems to me you should ask your friends there to help you.” She didn’t say anything. So he tried again. “I could help you, Dani.”

She froze, as if unsure what to do with his offer.

He sighed and stood up, snagging one last fry and giving her a salute with it. “I hope you find your friend.”

Her face softened. “Thank you,” she said.

He left the cafe, coffee in hand. He made sure she didn’t see him get back into the van. Now, it was time to see if the rabbit ran.

Hours later, Dani finally left the coffee shop. Jake watched her while Rhys watched the front doors of the building.

“She’s heading into the building,” Jake said quietly.

Rhys nodded. “Have her in sight.”

They watched as she hurried toward the revolving doors. Her ankle wobbled and she toppled, crashing into an Asian woman whose purse flew in the fall. Dani’s arms waved around as she helped the smaller woman to her feet and helped gather the woman’s purse and belongings. Then they parted ways and Dani strode through the revolving doors.

Jake frowned, tension thrumming through him. “What just happened there?”

Dani closed her book with a sniff. She loved happy endings. Too bad life couldn’t be like a romance novel. But there was no hero waiting in the wings to rescue her. She’d learned that a long time ago. She’d had to rescue herself.

The darkness of the third-floor ladies washroom was only broken by her penlight. She put it in her mouth while she shoved her book into her large tote. She’d been sitting in this toilet stall since five. She checked her watch. Just past eleven at night.

Her muscles protested when she stood up and opened the door. She spent a few minutes stretching before shucking her jacket and skirt. Underneath, she wore black leggings rolled up past her thighs, which she proceeded to pull down to cover her legs. On top she had a black, long-sleeved stretch tee. She swapped out her heels for a pair of black-on-black sneakers. A black ski mask completed her breaking-and-entering ensemble.

This floor had no security cameras, so no one could track her. She zipped her tote and left the bathroom, heart pounding.

Five years ago, she’d sworn to never break the law again. To never again travel that slippery slope that had led her straight to Vladimir. But that had been before Tassia had gone missing. And besides, it wasn’t as if she was stealing anything. Dani didn’t really consider hacking against the law, unless you did something illegal with the information. And tonight she only wanted a peek at Volga’s information. The breaking-and-entering part was a necessary evil, so she could be inside the company’s firewall.

She’d thought for sure she’d have to abandon her plan when Jake had entered the cafe. But he’d left without harassing her about what she was doing. His smile when he’d tried her
poutine
had softened his harsh edges and relaxed him. She wanted to see him smile again. Her cheeks heated. He wouldn’t smile if he could see her now. Mr. Straight-and-Narrow would definitely not approve of what she was doing.

Had he been right? Should she ask someone at E.D.G.E. to help her?

No, she couldn’t. She didn’t have any real friends there except for Chuck, and he didn’t think there was an issue. And even if he did, he’d want to do things by the book, which her gut said would take too long for Tass. Dani had only herself, no matter what Jake said.

Her doubts added to her tension, tightening muscles and occupying her thoughts. She needed complete focus and she couldn’t let Jake, his smile, or his biceps take up any more of her time.
 

She went to the stairs and crept up them, her penlight flashing over the concrete walls. The silence made her breathing seem louder and harsher than it was. At the fourth floor, she listened carefully before cracking the door open.

Silence and darkness. She pulled out the keycard she’d swiped from the receptionist earlier when she’d purposely knocked her purse over in front of the building. She was a little rusty at picking pockets, but the woman hadn’t suspected anything.