Trusting the SEAL (Saving the SEALs Series Book 3) (9 page)

“For safety, for security, for freedom.”

“There has to be a better way.”

“I agree. And as soon as someone finds it, I’ll be the first in line to sign up. Until then, liberty has a price.”

“You sound just like my father,” Toni said, her voice bitter. She gave a sad little laugh and rubbed her hands over her face. There was dirt on her cheek and scabs on both her knees and all Spencer wanted to do at that moment was hold her close and protect her from every bad thing in the world. “I’m sorry. I’m sure you don’t want to hear that.” She glanced at him over her shoulder and gave a watery smile. “I know what you do is important, Spencer. I just never expected it to hit so close to home, that’s all. I need some time to adjust.”

“Toni, I found the—”

Another knock sounded on the door, cutting him off. Spencer frowned. He wasn’t expecting anyone else tonight. “Yes?”

“There are some men here to see you, sir,” Ayaan said. “And the banquet room manager called, Ms. Williams. They want to know if you’ll be back down to continue the dress rehearsal.”

Toni took a deep breath then shook her head. “Please extend my apologies to the manager and tell him something unexpected has come up. I’ll call him later to reschedule for early tomorrow morning.

“Very good, ma’am.” Ayaan bowed then closed the door behind him.

Spencer stood and typed in a quick text to Kyle on his phone, hitting send before looking at her again.

“I alerted my team about what happened downstairs,” he said. “And I’m assuming it’s local law enforcement who’s here now. Meaning they’ll have questions for both of us.”

“Great.” Toni ran a shaky hand through her tousled hair then checked her appearance in the full length mirror beside her closet. “Any way you can stall them for a few minutes while I freshen up?”

“Sure thing.” He gave her a long, last look before leaving. Talking to the police right now was the last the thing he wanted to do, but if he stayed in that room much longer, he wasn’t sure he could keep his hands to himself.

He walked out into the sitting room only to find it wasn’t the cops at all.

It was his team.

“Christ on a cracker, man.” Gage said from the middle of the foyer, gawking. “Live like a king much?”

“No kidding.” Scotty shook his head and gave Spencer a what-the-hell look. “How come he gets to stay here while we hide out in Motel Hell?”

“Because Spencer is lead operative on this mission,” Kyle said, watching them all from the corner of the room and holding up his phone, where Spencer’s latest text glowed bright on the screen. “At least for now.”

“Good thing we decided to show up, eh dude? Given that the terrorists decided to crash your little party.” Gage grabbed a handful of grapes from a platter of fresh fruit Ayaan had set on an ottoman then stretched out his long form on the gold divan. “Would’ve showed up sooner if we’d known how pimped out you were.”

Spencer exhaled loud and sank into one of the sitting room’s overstuffed arm chairs, this one upholstered in deep purple. Seemed every square inch of the place was festooned in some jewel-toned shade.

“Got that right.” Scotty picked up a golden candelabra from a side table and squinted at the bottom. “You have any idea how much this place runs a night?”

“No.” He wasn’t footing the bill, so he figured it was none of his business.

“Try twenty-two thousand dollars.” Kyle pushed away from the corner. “Thankfully, it’s being funded by Sheik Saaed and not the American taxpayers.”

Spencer gritted his teeth in annoyance and studied his fingernails. “Anyone interested in discussing the kidnapping Arrieta attempted on my target? Considering that’s why we’re here?”

“You’ve confirmed Arrieta’s involvement?” Kyle leaned against the wall opposite Spencer’s chair.

“Yes. I was there, remember?”

“Any idea how he knows Miss Williams?”

“She said he did some business with her father a few years ago.”

“That fits in pretty neatly with what we found then, hey Kyle?” Gage said around a mouthful of food.

“Yeah?” Spencer glanced up at his team leader, scowling. “And what’s that?”

“We have reason to believe Coran’s more deeply involved with the SHEEPSKIN network than we first realized,” Kyle said.

“How?”

“From the codes Hayley’s deciphered on the e-readers so far, the files could only be used for one purpose—to act as some kind of message system, to infect these cells then alert interested parties to their whereabouts.”

“Wait. You mean the SHEEPSKIN network is actually designed to destroy the terrorists?”

“Seems that way,” Gage said, after popping another grape into his mouth. “Even if they do go about it in their own sick and twisted way.”

Scotty sank down into the other armchair next to the divan. “And if Coran’s publishing company has direct oversight of which books go on which e-readers, then—”

“Then Coran Williams could be the mastermind behind it all,” Kyle finished. “He could be SHEEPSKIN.”

Spencer dropped his head back against the chair and stared at the mosaic ceiling above. “Wow. I guess that does make sense. I mean he’s got the resources and the connections through his media companies to reach all corners of the world. What’s his motive though?”

“His political views have taken a decided turn toward the patriotic over the past couple of years. Everything from rallies to fundraisers to national conventions. He’s turned into a real martyr when it comes to his causes of late. Practically bleeds red, white, and blue these days,” Kyle says. “Wouldn’t take much to push a man like that over the edge.”

“Huh.” Spencer closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Maybe that’s why he’s gone into hiding too. Maybe he’s gone underground to focus on his network priorities. Coordinating bombing of school buildings isn’t exactly something you want out in the open, right?”

“Putrid thing is, for a guy like Coran, he probably thinks what he’s done is okay. I’m sure he justifies it under acceptable losses.” Scotty shook his head. “Man, can you imagine having that guy for your dad?”

“No,” Spencer said, gazing across the room at his buddy, a fleeting image of the text he’d found on Toni’s phone flickering through his mind. He hadn’t had a chance to ask her about it yet, but he would. She might still be talking to her father, but he refused to believe she’d take part in his heinous activities, no matter how noble the end goal. “I doubt Toni’s got any idea though.”

“Any idea about what?” she said, coming into the room with her hand extended toward Kyle. “Hello, I’m Toni Williams. I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“
K
yle Matthews
,” the tall, black-haired man said. His grip was firm and confident, though a hint of wariness lurked in his hazel eyes. Based on the fine lines around his eyes, he was a few years older than the rest of the guys and Toni guessed he must be Spencer’s esteemed team leader.

“Nice to meet you.” She gave a weak smile and did her best to control the tremor in her hands, then turned her attention to the other two men nearby. The first one stood and introduced himself as Gage. She made a mental note to remember him by his missing right earlobe. In her line of work, Toni met so many people and having clues to their identity always helped. He was a few inches taller than Spencer and bulkier, muscle-wise.

“And I’m Scotty Devonshire,” the second man said, flashed her a dazzling smile and a coy wink. “I’m sure Spencer has told you all about me.” Spencer hadn’t, actually, but from the top of this guy’s buzz-cut blond hair to the tips of his black combat boots, he was every inch the debonair flirt. “Hope my best bud here is treating you well.”

Toni glanced sideways at Spencer only to find him frowning darkly. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was jealous. But that would be ridiculous, right? Sure, they’d had sex at the oasis, but she never dared to hope for more beyond that point—and he wouldn’t offer, would he? She cleared her throat and smoothed a hand down the front of the clean, pink T-shirt and jeans she’d changed into. “Yes. Spencer’s been quite helpful since he hired on as my bodyguard.”

Gage snorted and resumed his seat on the divan. “That’d be a first then.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he’s enjoying this job,” Scotty said, chuckling as he took a seat back in his armchair. “You know, guarding your body.”

Beside her, Spencer snarled. “Watch it.”

“What?” Scotty raised a blond brow, his expression amused.

“You heard me.” Spencer stared across the space at his friend, giving him the equivalent of a visual “fuck you”.

“You think I’m scared of you, bro?” Scotty glared. “We can settle this outside, right here, right now.”

“Anytime.” Spencer stood, practically bristling with testosterone. “Bring it.”

“That’s enough!” Toni snapped, clutching at Spencer’s arm. “I’ve had enough confrontation today to last me a lifetime!” Her voice went high-pitched and wobbly. “Please, sit down.”

“Best take the lady’s advice, gentlemen,” Kyle said, his flat tone at odds with the growling men ready to tear each other limb from limb. He never once yelled, but the underlying threat of death and destruction in his voice was still unmistakable. “Now.”

Grumbling, both men took their seats again while Gage shook his head and grinned. “You’ll have to excuse them, Ms. Williams. Especially Scotty. First time away from his new girlfriend.”

“Oh. Well, that can be hard.” She nodded and keeping her hand on Spencer to keep him calm, and because it made her feel better just to touch him. “And please, all of of you. Call me Toni.”

Kyle narrowed his gaze on her. “How well do you know Miles Arrieta?”

“Not well.” Nervous now under the team’s direct scrutiny, Toni tucked her hair behind her ear. “As I told Spencer earlier, he’s done some business with my father and I met him at a couple of the Williams Publishing galas.”

“And where is your father?” Kyle asked.

“I have no idea.”

“That seems weird,” Scotty said. “I mean, he’s your father and you run this foundation with his blessing, yeah?”

“My father hasn’t given me his blessing, or anything else, since the day I was born.” Angry heat prickled up her cheeks. She wasn’t sure if it was the stress of what had happened earlier or just her pent-up frustrations in general that got the better of her, but she was tired of defending herself. Toni met Kyle’s gaze. “Am I under investigation here or something?”

“No.” Kyle narrowed his gaze. “We’re interested in the whereabouts of your father.”

“Yeah, I got that.”

“We have reason to believe your father may be involved in terrorism,” Kyle said, his expression unreadable. “If you know where he is and you don’t share that information, you’d be aiding and abetting a terrorist.”

Having her own concerns about her father’s activities was one thing. Having these men all but confirm her suspicions was like a sucker punch straight to her gut. She inhaled sharply and did her best not to vomit. “He’s my family, my flesh and blood.”

“And that’s what we’re afraid of.”

“Excuse me?”

“Just sit down,” Spencer said, took her hand and pulled her down onto the chair beside him. “I know this is a lot to take in, but we really need to talk to him. That’s all. Just talk. And I saw your text earlier. The one from your dad.”

“What?” She tried to pull her hand free from his, but he held tight. “I don’t understand. You were snooping through my stuff, Spencer? I trusted you.”

“I was just trying to protect you.”

“That’s not protection. That’s a violation.” She blinked back unwanted tears of fury. “How dare you invade my privacy like that. After everything that happened between us at the oasis.”

Kyle zeroed in on the interaction, his gaze darting from Spencer to Toni, then back again. “We have reason to believe that your father may have had some involvement in the village attack yesterday and that he may be heading an organization called SHEEPSKIN.”

Head swimming, she stared at the black marble floor. “The e-readers. You think those files have something to do with all this?

Spencer squeezed her hand, then looked at his team leader. “I told her about the encrypted files Hayley hacked.”

“I see.” Kyle stared at Toni a long moment, as if passing judgment on her worthiness. Finally, he sighed and looked away. “We don’t trust many people these days, Ms. Williams. For good reason.”

“I know about your suspension,” she said. “And about what happened to your brother. I’m sorry.”

“Too bad your father doesn’t feel the same way,” Kyle said.

Refusing to be intimidated, Toni squared her shoulders and held her head high. “I know what you think of my dad, and after everything you’ve discovered I realize you have no reason to trust me. But you came to my hotel room. You’re sitting in my suite, eating my food.” She looked over at Gage, who froze with a grape halfway to his mouth. “Whether you want to admit it or not, we need each other. You need to find my father and I need to stay safe and out of whatever mess he’s gotten himself involved in. But before I agree to help you, I need some assurance.” She tapped the toe of her fuzzy pink slipper on the floor and mimicked Kyle’s crossed arms and defensive stance. “First, I want your assurance you won’t hurt my father. There’s been enough blood shed. I don’t want any more on my hands.”

A spark of respect flitted through Kyle’s hazel eyes. “Fine. But you should also know I vowed the day my brother died to avenge his death and I intend to keep that promise no matter how much it costs me.”

Her next words clogged in her throat, but she forced them out anyway. “What other proof do you have of my father’s involvement?”

“Besides Nick’s widow writing a book commissioned specifically by your father? A document so hot, it caused a crispy-crazed psycho to blow up your dad’s publishing company and kidnap my girlfriend, Anna?” Gage said.

“Or him bribing an FBI agent to take out my girlfriend, Hayley?” Scotty said.

Toni looked between the two men, wide-eyed and silent.

“It’s complicated.” Kyle scrubbed a hand over the stubble on his jaw. “But our objective has been and will always be the truth, Ms. Williams.”

“Toni.”

The team leader looked at her a long moment, the hint of a smile fracturing his stoic façade. “Toni.”

She nodded. “Okay, then. When I was growing up, my father had this set of rare first editions. He’d collected them for years, stored them away in hermetically sealed vaults for safe keeping. I could have them overnighted here.”

“I don’t understand,” Kyle said, frowning.

“After his country and his precious values and principles, the thing my father loves most are those books. If we can’t use his patriotism to get him to reveal himself, then we need the next best thing. Also, as Spencer mentioned, he sent me a text earlier.” She glanced sideways at Spencer, her brow raised. “The first and only one in months, in case you were wondering. Which I’m sure you were. It’s just two words, but maybe your hacker can use it to track his location.” She stood and walked over to the far wall, then faced the guys again. “And in case you’re harboring any resentment about me not telling you about the text when I got it, I meant to tell you earlier, Spencer, really I did, but with the dress rehearsal and then the attack, there just wasn’t time.”

He watched her, his expression inscrutable.

Toni sighed, then continued. “Anyway, with all the bad things that have happened prior to my foundation’s press conference tomorrow, I’d say we need a little good in the mix. Thanks to you guys, we’ve added an auction to the PR event tomorrow, with the proceeds benefitting the village attack relief fund. I’d say we could still use a star donation, don’t you?”

Kyle slowly smiled. “Right. Coran sees his precious books are about to be sold and he’ll feel compelled to save them.”

“Yep.” She stood and pulled her phone from her pocket to make the call to her father’s library back in the States. Before she finished dialing however, Spencer was at her side, his disgruntled expression swiftly changing to concern.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, his tone low.

“We all need answers, Spencer. This is the only way I can think of to get them quickly.”

“What about Arrieta?”

“What about him?”

He took her arm and led her a bit farther away from the other guys. “He’s still out there. What if he shows up and threatens you again?”

Toni placed her hand on his chest, and gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “That’s what I have you for, right?”

* * *

L
ater that night
, after they’d all had dinner and the guys had returned to their motel, Spencer sat in a small alcove off of the large main living room, alone. Through a small window beside him, the lights of the city glittered below like scattered jewels and everything seemed so peaceful and calm, it was hard to believe in a few hours, chaos would ensue.

Fucking Arrieta.

That guy had a death wish a mile wide where his team was concerned and he seemed to be baiting them these days. He wondered if the guy had hired the two snipers who’d shot at him and Toni too? Kyle and the team were still checking into that, but when you were tracking pay-for-play killers, things tended to get murky.

He exhaled slow and leaned farther back into the shadows, squinting at the rooftop of the luxury hotel across the way. Well, whoever had hired them, those shooters had shitty aim. Spencer could’ve made that kill from a mile away with a blindfold on. As a precaution, though, he’d asked Scotty to keep an eye on the neighboring buildings to make sure there wouldn’t be any more issues.

“Want some company?” Toni asked from behind him, her soft tone sending ripples of need through his system.

Words couldn’t really express how much Spencer wanted her company right about now, but keeping his distance was for the best. Kyle had pulled him aside after dinner and questioned his emotional integrity in regards to her. Again. Him. The guy who’d always put the team’s interests before his own, even when it came to relationships.
Jesus.
The whole encounter had knocked him back a step or two mentally.

And yeah, he and Toni had slept together and yeah, it was probably the hottest damned encounter in his whole life, but he wasn’t emotionally invested. Nah. That was crazy. Hell, he hadn’t even known her long enough to know what her favorite color was or her favorite song or even whether she preferred the Yankees or the Red Sox—which was crucial information for any long-term relationship.

Still, it was a lovely evening and it seemed a shame to waste it all alone. “Sure.”

She walked into the darkened alcove, two bottles of pale ale in her hands. She gave him one, then stretched out on the bench seat beside him and stared out. The city lights shone below them, nearly blotting out the twinkling stars above, so beautiful yet so cold. On clear nights like this back in Afghanistan, Spencer had loved to imagine those stars were, in fact, entrances to heaven. And that maybe, just maybe, his beloved grandparents were looking down on him and were proud of who he’d become.

His chest pinched at the fond memories of their nearly sixty-year marriage. Toni came closer to his ideal than any woman had in years. She was funny and smart and she challenged him to see the world differently. No easy feat when it came to a guy who specialized in knowing all his angles and the precise placement of every shot within a five-hundred-foot radius.

“The calm before the storm, huh?” She turned her head to peer at him through the gloom. A sliver of moonlight shown through the window and a slight breeze sent the gauzy curtains billowing. Sitting so close to the outdoors probably wasn’t the wisest choice after all that had occurred the past couple of days, but they were hidden in the shadows. Plus, his team was on patrol as well, so Spencer felt a little safer, from everything
except
the woman standing so close behind him he could feel her heat through his thin cotton T-shirt. He suppressed a shudder of pleasure at her nearness.