Birds of Prey (4 page)

He pressed more about Mike too.

She managed to keep her temper reined in, but knew that he could tell she wouldn’t be any help there.

He finally laid his book down and sighed. “That’s all for now.”

Her throat had gone dry and she had a headache. Regardless, she still scowled at him. “Fine.”

She rose and headed towards the door.

“Aubrey?”

She turned towards him at the threshold.

“I am sorry about Gregory. I don’t have to tell you not to do anything stupid, do I?”

She snorted. “Is this where you tell me not to leave town?” she responded sarcastically.

He stood and faced her. “No.” He lowered his voice. “This is where I tell you to let us do our job and warn you to stay out of the investigation. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Aubrey lifted a brow. “As far as I remember, you didn’t want to see me at all.”

She stomped from the room, letting the irritation and annoyance ride over the confusion and hurt she was still trying to push down.

As she passed, she banged on the conference door to let Mike know that she was finished but didn’t go in.

No way could she stand another minute in anyone else’s company. She needed to be alone.

She clomped down the stairs, through the study, out onto the deck. She took a huge gulp of fresh air and felt better.

Jeez, how long had she been inside? She glanced at her watch. It was already after eleven in the morning.

Adrian should be returning soon. He’d take complete control over the Cast before everything fell apart. Security needed beefing up. Mike had already instructed the others to do so. Some of the junior guards would have to take up the extra patrols.

And she wasn’t going to leave the investigation to the Coalition—or Cody.

It was her leader, her uncle who had been killed. She would find the person or persons responsible and take them down. She had no doubt that Mike would feel the same.

A sound behind her had her spinning and dropping into a crouch.

“Baby.” Her mom joined her on the deck.

“Mom.” She opened her arms. Her mother rushed to her and Aubrey embraced her, holding her tight. “I’m sorry.”

Tears soaked her shirt and Aubrey swayed back and forth rocking her mother. Her own eyes burned, but she needed to take care of her mom. Aubrey held her for almost ten minutes before she stopped crying.

“Why would anyone do this?” she sobbed into Aubrey’s shoulder.

“I don’t know,” she answered. “I don’t know.”

Her mother pulled back. “You find out who did this!”

“I will,” Aubrey promised. “I’ll find them.”

Her mom nodded before scrubbing her hands over her cheeks. Tears still gathered in her eyes. “Adrian just arrived. The agents from the Coalition are speaking with him.”

Aubrey nodded. She wasn’t really surprised. The agents jumping on Adrian just as he arrived made sense. She didn’t have to like it, though. He would need time to grieve. She wished that she could give him that time, but she wasn’t sure it was possible. The Coalition would demand answers. Aubrey wasn’t sure who would have them.

“How are you?”

“I’m okay.” She offered a smile to go with her lie.

“So that was your young man.”

It wasn’t a question and Aubrey couldn’t help going tense.

“What?”

Still beautiful and full of life, her mom giggled. “You never could lie to me. Did you think I wouldn’t recognise his name?”

No, she really hadn’t thought that her mother would have remembered. She’d never met Cody, but Aubrey had spoken about him. When he had left, her mom had held her as Aubrey had cried.

“I should have known,” she admitted.

“He is very attractive.”

Aubrey groaned. “Mom.”

Before her mother could say anything else, Mike called from inside the study, “Aubrey, we need to have a meeting.”

She hugged her mom. “Go home, Mama,” she told her. “I’ll call and check on you later.”

“Okay, baby, you go to work.”

Aubrey followed Mike back through the house and up the stairs. They rejoined the others in the conference room and Mike closed the door behind her.

Sandwiches, chips, and fresh coffee sat on a rolling cart that someone had brought in.

“Let’s fuel up and start planning,” Mike ordered.

She poured herself a cup of coffee, and, even though she wasn’t hungry, grabbed one of the turkey sandwiches. They would need sustenance. She sat at the table while everyone else settled around the room.

Mike looked exhausted as he stood watching them. His gaze met hers and she had to swallow. He looked broken-hearted.

Chapter Three

Aubrey rolled her neck, trying to work the kinks out. It had been a long day and, even though it was only seven in the evening, she was dog-tired.

“Hey, Aubrey.”

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled as Adrian walked into the office. She’d been assigned to watch the monitors until nine and was glad for the interruption.

“Adrian.” She rose and went over to hug him.

She was only a little surprised when he tightened his arms around her and held her longer than she’d expected.

He’d had just as long a day as she’d had. After he’d spoken to the agents, he’d allowed them to search Gregory’s office, private rooms, and the rest of the house. Adrian had been locked up in meetings for the remainder of the day. Aubrey had seen him only briefly in the hallway once.

“Adrian.” She patted his back, trying to step away.

“God, I can’t believe this!” Adrian pronounced against her neck.

“I know.” She ran her hands down his back, trying to soothe him.

He turned his head and kissed the side of her neck. She tried to keep from stiffening.

“Adrian.” This time her voice held a warning.

“Just let me,” he pleaded softly. “I need you.”

She couldn’t. As much as she wanted to be there for him and would offer him comfort, she couldn’t give him what he was asking for. She was still reeling from running into Cody. And having Adrian’s arms around her wouldn’t help clear her mind.

Her relationship with Adrian had been so very different from the one she’d had with Cody. She realised that she’d never opened up entirely to Adrian.

Her heart had to be guarded so that she would never again feel the anguish Cody had left her with.

She gripped the back of his shirt. “We can’t,” she told him firmly.

He lifted his head and cupped her face. She looked up and saw grief shining in his eyes. Her heart hurt at his expression.

“Aubrey, so much has changed,” he said, finally stepping away. “When are you going to forgive me?”

“I have!” They had been through this. “Adrian, I
truly
have. You know I support you. I’ll continue to do so too.”

“Then why?” He threw his hands up in annoyance. “Why can’t we be together?”

She straightened her shoulders. “You know why.” And she wasn’t going to go through this again. Not today of all days.

“Fine,” he said sharply. His blue eyes hardened.

“Don’t…” She reached for him, but he sidestepped away.

“You don’t want me.” He curled his lip. “I won’t beg.”

It wasn’t fair. Their break-up hadn’t been her fault. She’d tried to remain on good terms with him. She opened her mouth to tell him that, but Mike strode up behind Adrian, who shifted to the side and made room for Mike.

“How are the security checks coming?” he asked Mike.

“Good,” Mike responded easily. “Everything is under control.”

“As far as you know?” Adrian asked, with a lifted brow.

“Hey!” Aubrey declared. “This isn’t on him!”

Adrian turned back to her. “No, it’s on all of you. How did someone get inside?”

She wanted to smack him for that insult. She knew it came from his grief and stress, but they didn’t deserve to get hammered.

Besides, Adrian was now her Cast leader. She couldn’t go around punching him. Hell, she had to be very careful. Adrian now ran everything.

But she wasn’t going to let Mike or any of their team take the fall.

“There is a blip on the cameras. We don’t see anything for ten minutes,” she defended.

“And no one noticed?” Adrian demanded.

“It was during rounds,” she argued. “We don’t monitor the screens twenty-four hours a day. Not unless there is an alert. You know that, Adrian.”

“That will have to be one of the things we change,” he said coldly.

“Change?”

Adrian didn’t answer. Instead, he turned to Mike. “Did you get me the reports and information I requested?”

“Yes, sir.” Mike nodded. “I placed them on your desk.”

“Good.” Adrian turned on his heel and strolled away.

“Son of a—” Aubrey started to go after him when Mike grabbed her arm.

“Let him go,” he told her softly.

She whirled on him. “What? He can’t blame us. He can’t act that way.”

“He’s just trying to control something,” Mike said, pulling her back into the security office. “He needs something to concentrate on right now.”

“So we get to take a beating?” she retorted.

“Unless you want to sleep with him again,” Mike shot back.

“Screw you!” she muttered. Still, Mike’s response had amused her.

“Yeah, that will really solve all our problems,” he responded dryly.

Aubrey snorted in amusement. “Shut up.”

Mike hugged her. “Let him go over our procedures. It will make him feel better and give him a way of helping the investigation.”

“What are we going to do?”

“We are going to find out how they got in. We’re going to find the bastard,” he answered.

Relief flowed through her. Thankful that Mike was on the same page, she smiled up at him. “Where do we start?”

“I want you to go through Gregory’s office. I know the agents already went through it, but it won’t hurt to do it again. I have Chad and Mike trying to figure out how someone managed to jam the cameras.”

“The gate didn’t open,” she reminded him. “That camera wasn’t touched.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “So whoever placed the explosive must’ve already been inside or got in some way other than the gate.”

“You don’t—?” She had to stop and gather her thoughts. “It can’t be someone here.”

Mike frowned. “Until we know more, everyone is suspect.”

Her stomach knotted. “I guess.”

“I’m pulling Kenny in to watch the monitors. Go ahead and get started in Gregory’s office.”

“Will do.” She turned to go.

“He is very good-looking,” Mike spoke, before she reached the door.

She rotated slowly.

He stood with his feet apart, arms crossed.

“Who?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“Your agent.”

Aubrey pursed her lips. Mike was her best friend. He knew everything. Like her mom, he had never met Cody, but he could put two and two together.

“Yeah, he always was,” she replied with a shrug.

“You doing okay?”

“Yeah, it was a shock, but we have more important issues right now.”

Mike grinned.

“Okay, I have work.” She shuffled out, glancing back over her shoulder. “And don’t think I didn’t see your reaction to the other agent.”

She let her words hang in the air.

Mike had been burned worse than her. His partner of five years had recently left him for a man barely of legal age. Mike had taken it hard.

She prayed that maybe this was the first step of his moving on.

She turned and hurried down the hall. She passed Adrian’s office and heard his low tone as he spoke with someone.

She was still tempted to tell him exactly what she thought about his accusations, but Mike was right. She needed to cut him some slack. She would also have to keep her past relationship with Adrian far away from what would happen in the future.

Adrian had a lot going on. Some tough times ahead. If going over security protocols helped him, then Aubrey would try to back off.

But she’d had enough of people blaming her.

First Cody had questioned how she’d earned her rank. Now Adrian was questioning their alliance? It was almost too much to handle.

Thinking about Cody Johnson didn’t settle her stomach either.

He was still hot. Damn, had smelt good too, and the feel of him against her? She’d never thought that she would experience anything like that again.

Now that she had, Aubrey wasn’t sure how she could recover. Obviously he’d been back for a while, although he’d never looked for her.

She hadn’t meant as much to him as he had to her. That shouldn’t have been a surprise since he had broken up with her before leaving her behind.

But she’d always wondered if he thought about her. Regretted ending their relationship.

Now she had her answer.

She reached Gregory’s office and turned the knob. The door opened silently, the wooden bottom rubbing against the thick carpet.

The room wasn’t as neat as Gregory had normally kept it. The agents hadn’t torn it apart or anything, but items were scattered around the desk and the drawers weren’t closed fully.

She shut the door behind her and breathed deeply. Even as a human, her nose detected far more than most people’s could.

Gregory’s lingering trace was still there, along with Cody’s and the hawk shifters’. Adrian had been in recently also.

She could almost pinpoint every location that Cody had been in the office.

Hell, she still hadn’t recovered from feeling his hands on her.

Although her skin had felt like it was burning, she had wanted him to lower his head. To take her mouth and…

Oh crap, she couldn’t think that way about him. It wasn’t going to happen. She needed to get past him, over him, like she’d thought she already had.

She had work to do. Couldn’t let her Cast members down.

Glancing around the room, she wondered where to start.

The picture that had been in front of the safe was on the carpet leaning against the wall. The safe had been opened and was now empty.

Either the agents or Adrian had cleared it out. She’d have to ask Mike if he knew.

Gregory’s laptop was gone also.

Shaking her head, she decided to look through the file cabinets. She didn’t even know what she was looking for.