Lock and Load (SEAL EXtreme Team) (23 page)

She saw Charlie as a gallant white knight, but this chink in his armor made him even more interesting. “Tell me about it.”

“I will, but you first. Why did you steal the money?”

“I didn’t need the money. All I cared about was saving my best friend’s life.”

He frowned. “She needed the money?”

“No. To graduate and get out of town. Her father was the meanest drunk I’d ever known.  Two days before senior graduation, Sara Jean told me that she was failing Chemistry. If she didn’t graduate her father would beat her. She’d be lucky to survive it. I’d seen the marks, knew she wasn’t lying. I wanted her to go the police and report that monster, but she’d done that once and missed two weeks of school with a broken leg from ‘falling down the stairs’. She wouldn’t make that mistake twice. Her only way out was to use the money her grandmother had set aside for her and go off to college. That wouldn’t happen if she failed Chemistry.”

Charlie rubbed her arm, sending goose pimples up her skin. “Let me guess. You hacked into the grades and changed Sara Jean’s F to an A.”

“Not exactly. I hacked into the portal and changed all of the senior’s grades to A’s. Every single one.”

He chuckled. “A little over-kill, dontcha think?”

“I knew I wouldn’t get caught. I’d covered my tracks too well. But if I only changed Sara Jean’s grade, she might get blamed. I waited until the last minute so that the teachers didn’t have time to sort things out before graduation.”

He nodded. “Smart.”

“I thought so until Principal Prick filed a police report.”

“His name was Prick?”

“That’s what I called him. And other things. He said he witnessed Amber Fitz and Sara Jean Williams hacking into the school computers. Lying bastard. I was two months shy of my eighteenth birthday and could’ve walked away with a simple warning from the juvenile judge. But I couldn’t live with that. Not after Sara Jean ended up on life-support.” Her voice was rising, but it was hard to keep it down. She hadn’t talked about this in years and it still made her blood boil.

“Her father beat her?”

“Sara Jean couldn’t say. She remained in a vegetative state until the hospital finally pulled the plug.” She looked down and saw she was gripping Charlie’s arm, digging her nails in. He hadn’t said a word about it. “Sorry.”

“Shit, Amber. I’m sorry. What happened to her father?”

“He had an alibi, but it was a lie too. An anonymous tip reported him as a child abuser. The neighbors collaborated. He’s in jail now. I hope he rots.”

“Wow. That’s some story.”

“There’s more. What happened to Sara Jean was Principal Prick’s fault. He knew what her father was like and he still blamed her for something she didn’t do. That made me so angry. I hacked into his bank account and wired ten thousand dollars to the children’s wing at the hospital in Sara Jean’s honor. The newspapers were tipped off about the principal’s role in a beautiful young girl’s death. Not anonymously.”

His jaw dropped. “You gave the papers your name? Why?”

“I was guilty too, Charlie. She’d be alive today if I hadn’t done what I did.” She swallowed hard, the principal’s words ringing in her head.
Choices, Amber. We all have them. You choose poorly, you pay the price.

“I paid for it. I was, as you say, eighteen when I stole the money, so I got six months in the county jail and an ugly blot on my record. Hacker. Thief. Convict. Employers didn’t hire people with a record like mine.”

“Why didn’t your father get you off, probation or something? I assume he had money and the means for high-powered lawyers.”

She sighed. The old wounds in her heart tore a bit more. “Money and means, not the desire. He was tired of my wild-child ways and thought time in jail would cure me of my antics. He believed what teachers and the principal said about me, more than he believed me. No, he didn’t help me and I didn’t forgive him for a long time.”

“Are you kidding me? I would never have left my daughter to rot in jail. What kind of a man does that?” Charlie snarled.

He was angry
for
her. That felt nice.

She shrugged. “Old water under an ancient bridge. I had to take some questionable computer jobs just to make ends meet. I might have landed in jail again if I hadn’t made a promise to go legit and get my shit together. After, you know, my client the perv.”

He cupped her jaw and gazed into her eyes. “I’ve never met another woman like you, Amber Fitz. Strong, courageous and determined? Seriously sexy.”

She laughed, remembering what he’d said the first time he asked her out. “I thought you said
smart
women are sexy.”

“Sweetheart, you’ve got all of that in spades. But there’s something else about you that turns me on.”

She lifted her eyebrow and leaned closer. Her lips were inches from his. “Do tell.”

“Your heart. You really care about people and fight to protect them.” He smiled. “You’re as loyal as a SEAL.”

“Is that better than a dog, because I’m more of a cat person— “

He silenced her with his lips. Oh. Wow. She loved it when he did that.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

C
harlie watched Amber do her thing. He’d grown comfortable with his position as the smartest computer wizard in the group; however, that wasn’t the case today. She didn’t really need him. He pretended she did. She’d already figured out the password and encryption codes and was in the final stages of decoding all the data on hard drive. Damn, she was good.

She rolled her shoulders to stretch out the kinks.

“Tired?” he asked.

“I’m beyond tired. And this is a pain in the ass without decent lighting. Maybe we should finish this once the sun comes up.”

“That’ll be in a few hours.”

“I’ll be able to work faster then. I promise.” She yawned.

He stood up and came behind her. He rubbed her shoulders. Shit, her muscles were tight.

She moaned. “Oh, wow. That feels so good.”

“Close your eyes.” Slowly, gently, he worked his fingers, going deeper, deeper. He’d like to do this naked. He’d start at the top and work his way down, hell, maybe he’d go back up again. And down…

“Charlie…?”

“Yes, sweetheart?” He loved the way she said his name.

“I found something.”

He stopped rubbing and leaned over her shoulder. “What is it?”

He felt it, the flinch, her body coiling like a live wire.

“The transmissions started about an hour before the gunfight from Director Lau, the CEO of Global Games, to the men on that boat. They’re in Cantonese. Do you want me to translate?” Her voice was one tick above a whisper. Whatever she’d read already had scared her.

He steeled himself. “Yes. Read them.”

Director Lau: 
SBs
want a report. Have you found her?

Boat:
We are closing in on the
junk
. Tell the
hahk sum
Americans we know what is at stake.

Director Lau:
Black hearts, yes. It would be best for you if you don’t forget it.

Boat:
We want our money. We won’t let her get away.

Director Lau:
You should worry more about your lives. The SBs will kill us all if we don’t deliver the card and the girl’s body.

Boat:
Understood.

Amber repeated the most important part, “’ …deliver the card and the girl’s body.’ Oh, God Charlie.”

She knew the truth. Director Lau would send more men after her. Boats were probably speeding this way now.

He wrapped his arms around her. “We’ll stop them.”

“But who are they?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never heard of the SBs. I’ll tell Mack, see if he knows.”

She held onto his arms a moment longer. “I should never have gotten on this junk with you. I put you in danger.“

“Shit, woman. I’m a SEAL. I eat danger for snack.” He joked, but he could still feel the anxiety coming off her body in waves. “It’s going to be all right.”

“Promise?”

He kissed her cheek. “Damned straight. I’ll be right back. Don’t go any where without me.” He took one step away and then came back to whisper in her ear. “I owe you a proper massage.”

Her lips turned up. “I’ll add it to the list. Beer, Cheetos, dancing and a massage.”

Charlie returned just as the the
junk
slowed.

“What’s happening?” Amber’s voice had a hint of panic in it.

Charlie lifted his binoculars. Up ahead, dark hills rose out of the water.

“We’re pulling into the
bay of
Tai Wan
. The island is up ahead.”The bay was a crescent-shaped with a nice sheltered cove. “
Po Toi
is a group of small rock islands. It’ll be a good place to hang out. Jenna said the only way in or out is by boat. Ferries only run on the weekends, so it will be quiet.” There weren’t any boats in the bay.

“What did Mack say?”

“He doesn’t know who the SBs are either. Our orders are to stay here and wait until the admiral comes to get us.”

“Maybe we can get off this boat and get some rest?” Amber rose and put a cool hand on his bicep. “My eyes are crossing.”

“We’ll find a safe spot for you to rest. You need it. The team will split up and take shifts. Someone will always be watching for hostiles, sweetheart. You don’t have to worry.”

“I’m not,” she said softly. But again, her tone didn’t match the words. Did she know how unconvincing she was?

“I’m going to speak to Jenna for a moment. Finish up what you are doing and then call it a night.” He couldn’t seem to make his feet walk away. Emotion clogged his throat and dread slid into his chest. He kissed her temple. “We’re going to be fine.”

That wasn’t convincing either. His gut was clenched, sending adrenaline surging throughout his nervous system. Charlie wasn’t sure what the future held, but he had a bad feeling about the
Po Toi Island.
His gut had never been wrong.

He pulled Amber into his arms and held on. Praying it wouldn’t be the last time. Then he walked out of the comm room.

When Charlie walked out of the room, Amber puzzled over the message from Director Lau. Who were the SBs? Obviously they were the Americans in charge of this whole thing. Military? They were scary if the triad was afraid of them. And powerful. The SBs had hired Director Lau and the Triad 14K to steal the top secret weapons. They’d killed Jacques. They’d used her against her country and she would stop them.

They’d pay for what they done, she’d make sure of it. If it took every last minute of her life, she’d figure out a way to get back at them. First she needed to ensure that Charlie and the team were safe.

“Did you hear anything come through on the radio?” Charlie leaned against the door frame.

She jumped at Charlie’s voice. “No.”

“That’s what I thought. I haven’t been able to get a signal on this thing for close to an hour. We’re too remote. Or maybe the islands are distorting the radio signals.”

Mack poked his head into the communications room. “Hey guys, join us on deck.”

The sky was lighter than Amber realized.

When Ty shut off the engine and joined the rest of the team, Mack began. “Okay, here’s the plan. Charlie and Amber remain on the junk working on the hard drive and monitoring the radio while the rest of us set up overlooks on land. We’ll need recon, traps and cover. Spots for…” Mack’s gaze went to Charlie’s raised hand. “What is it Charlie?”

“That’s not going to work.” He wrapped his arm around her. “Amber is tired and there’s not enough light to work on the hard drive. I say she gets some rest. We’ll come back and finish up the decoding after she’s had a nap.”

“You say?” Mack growled.

Willy fake coughed—
Charlie’s got a girlfriend
—cough.

Charlie ignored his brother. “Yes, sir. I’ve been told that there’s an old house on the island where Amber can rest.”

“I told him. Old Mo’s House. It’s also called Ghost House. Japanese soldiers stayed during World War II. It’s in ruins but it will offer some protection and will be a nice safe place to rest,” Jenna said.