Breaking Through (16 page)

I’m desperate for answers.
Taking Riley to my bunk and showing him what Haskal broke into means I’ll have to offer up a little trust. It’s necessary though, I think, because he’s the captain and what he knows or doesn’t know could make or break this mission. And Cara, it seems, has a higher security clearance than Riley, which makes no sense. How did she get that?

As long I keep distance between the two of us, keep our relationship professional like Kray advised, I won’t lose control.

We walk through the curtain, Riley adjusting it closed behind us. “I’ll fix this tomorrow,” he says again.

My gaze travels the length of his body, and I swallow. “Yeah, thanks.” I tear my eyes away from the sculpted arms that felt so good around me after my nightmares. “Over here.”

He motions for me to take the chair. I obey. Riley stands behind me, both hands on the backrest. Warmth radiates off him, and I catch the scent of his aftershave. God, he smells good.

I hand him the note Haskal gave me. “Cara’s information.”

“Cara’s? How did you get this?” He holds it up without looking at it.

“Haskal,” I out. We’re on the same team, right? Plus if I owe him now anyway, what I do with the crumpled slip of paper is my business. “This is Nate’s file.”

I lean back so Riley can get a good look at my computer screen. He must read fast, because he reaches around me and pushes the down arrow button. My brain tells me to shift a little so my arm isn’t touching his, but I’m weak. So weak.

When he reaches the bottom of the page, he doesn’t say anything. Instead, his other arm rounds me and rests on the desk, caging me between them. I want to nestle into him. Minty breath puffs against my neck, and a shiver races up my spine. I both hate and love the effect this man has on me.

He moves the cursor to the search field and types in
TorpMissionOne
. No results found.

He deletes his first search and enters
J.R. Frank
.

“The person who recruited Nate,” I say, remembering what I’d read.

Six hits appear.

“Nate was recruited because of his talents. And he was recruited by J.R. Frank, but in the records I’ve seen, Frank’s name isn’t associated with TM1.”

“Do you know Admiral Frank?” I ask.

“Never heard of him.”

“What about M. Mariz? The person who wrote the notes on Nate’s page.”

“Her, I know. The other aquator I’ve met? That’s her.”

“Did she know Nate?” I ask.

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

Riley scans the six Franks. Only one has an admiral rank, and he clicks on it. Like Nate’s page, Admiral J.R. Frank’s is adorned with a red ribbon across the top. Deceased.

Riley doesn’t comment on that, though. Instead, he scrolls through Frank’s rise in the Navy, reading faster than I do. With Riley’s ability, he’s probably committing each word to memory as he goes. I get in two full sentences before I give up.

When he hits the bottom of the page, I ask, “So?”

“Frank orchestrated TM1, all right. He spent years off the coast of the Koreas, digging into their weapons program. Especially when it came to underwater weaponry and submarine warfare. He returned to the States with a proposal for a team—a highly specialized team from Brighton. His objective you already know.”

“Did he die on the mission, then?”

Riley shakes his head. “No. House fire just before departure, and his second-in-command became the top dog.”

“Cara?”

“You got it,” he says, now typing Cara Prior’s name into the search field. Unlike Nate’s and J. R. Frank’s, Cara’s page is virtually empty. Like mine. She has a picture and a short bio, and that’s it.

“Shit,” Riley mutters. He swipes a hand through his hair, and despite myself, I can’t help but find the look of pure analyzing on his face as sexy as hell.

“Dead end?”

Riley doesn’t answer. He just leans over me again and types
Tony Melene
into the search field.

“Who’s that?” I ask.

“My superior. The man behind TM2.”

“You think he’s hiding something?”

“I think he’s high-clearance military and knows more then he lets on.”

I don’t even try to read this time; he’s just too damn fast. A minute later, he’s finished and massaging the stubble on his chin.

“And?” I prompt.

“Nothing out of the ordinary. It doesn’t even mention his involvement with TM2.”

“But that’s to be expected, right?”

“Yeah, it won’t be listed on any of our profiles.”

“He’s clean, then?”

“Seems to be.”

“What about M. Mariz?”

“No involvement. After Frank’s death, she became the commanding officer by default, but the amount of red tape was too thick to have an on-site association. The mission progressed without her.”

“Which means what?”

“All she did was write the report.”

Another dead end. Great.

He goes quiet again, his gaze locking onto some point on the wall. I let him think. He’s still settled over me, my body trapped between his arms. That feeling of safety I get when he’s this near cocoons me. His omission about Nate still irritates me, but after what I read in my brother’s file, I realize Riley’s knowledge was limited.

Riley straightens, the arms that are already just a memory slip away from me. My heart drops, but I ignore it. This is my reality.

“What do you think?” I ask.

“I think Melene was right when he told me TM1 was doomed from the beginning. But not for the reasons he believes.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve been duped. TM1, and quite possibly TM2, were never meant to succeed. It’s all a ruse.”

“The torpedo…we won’t be able to stop it?”

Riley swallows, the muscles in his jaw clenching and unclenching. “Nautia, we’ve been sent on a suicide mission.”

“By Melene? Frank?”

Golden irises cut to me. “No. By Cara.”

Why the hell
didn’t I see it before? I’ve been running my ass off, covering all possible bases of this operation, and missing the one piece staring me square in the face. Why, though?

Son of a bitch!

I pound my fists into the punching bag. Hit after hit only fuels my frustration. Cara made sure Admiral Frank was out of the picture first, then she orchestrated events so no member of TM1 returned home. To keep whatever deal she has with Ji-jin, none of us can return either. I’m leading a damned crew.

Fucking pyro.

Options. I need options.

I have to refocus on solutions. It’s 2 a.m., and I’m alone in the weight room. No distractions. No bullshit. Just me, my thoughts, and the slow burn of muscles as I work them. I do a roundhouse kick to clear my mind.

Turning the ship around means North Korea will launch its new, state of the art torpedo, killing countless civilians. Continuing on would guarantee the deaths of everyone on board, plus North Korea launching the torpedo. I’m in goddamn Morton’s Fork.

The only way out of this is to change the trajectory completely. Operate on a new set of not-military-approved rules. Admiral Melene can’t help me now. There are nine other people on this ship, and those nine are my immediate responsibility.

Ocean blue eyes flash across my mind. The pain I see in them makes me close my own, wishing like hell I could take all of the hurt away. Cara started this war, and I’m going to end it.

I throw more punches into the bag, a plan forming in my mind. From the beginning, we’ve been split into Navy and Specials. No more.

No longer is Nautia the wild card in this mission. Now, she’s the ace.

I grab a towel from the rack and wipe the sweat from my face. I snatch up the T-shirt I tossed to the side. When I turn back, those eyes that had mesmerized me from day one stare at me from the doorway. Hair swept over one shoulder, Nautia shifts her weight. As she does, my gaze is drawn down her body, her bare legs exposed under a pair of too-short shorts. She’s barefoot too, toenails painted bright red.

This girl is powerful beyond her knowledge, but the way she’s standing there, one hip resting against the doorjamb, reminds me she’s not just a beautifully wrapped weapon. Nor is she a grenade with the pin pulled, ready to go off at any second. No, Nautia is the perfect mystery. The kind that frustrates you, and turns you on at the same time. That you have to figure out before it drives you mad. That you long to protect, even if it kills you.

She bites her lip and rolls her painted toes against the cold floor. My legs are telling me to go to her. My arms beg to be circled around her. My lips burn to kiss her, and my dick wants to be buried inside her.

But I’m an intelligent man, so it’s my brain I listen to.

“Can’t sleep?” I ask from where I’m standing.

She shakes her head. “I keep thinking about Nate and Cara. She knew all this time what happened to my brother, because she gave the orders. She was behind all of it.
She
killed him, and in essence, all she ever told me was to get over it.” Nautia’s voice cracks as she fights the emotion flushing her cheeks. Still, I stay where I am.

“I sat in a room, being counseled for two years by the woman who murdered my brother, and the only thing I can think about is why she wanted me on this mission. After telling me I’d never be recruited if I couldn’t control my ability, then
wham!
You come along, and now I’m here. That’s not a coincidence, Riley. Cara doesn’t make mistakes. She’s precise, meticulous. She has a plan, and she’s had it from the start. She took out my brother, and now she’s going to take me out.” Nautia inhales, her gaze averting to the floor as her chest expands. She slowly lets out the breath before coming back to me. “And she’ll take everyone on this ship down with me.”

“I won’t let that happen,” I say. “Not to the crew, and I sure as hell won’t let her hurt you.” I ignore my brain now and let my feet carry me forward on instinct. She’s emotional. She’s pissed. And she’ll lose control.

I move closer, holding her stare. Like me, she’s probably wondering what comes next. But she sought
me
out, not Kray. To be honest, it surprises me, given our recent history. I’m not complaining though. I want her to come to me. With everything.

She backs into the doorjamb as I press against her. I slip both hands into her hair and hold them there. I tip her head up, forcing her to look at me. Moisture makes her eyes glisten.

“You’re right, but Nate’s fate won’t be yours,” I assure her. “We will stop Yun Ji-jin, and we will stop Cara Prior. She’s not going to win this time.”

“She’s already won, Riley. She has us out here, exactly where she wants us.”

“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean she’s won. We just have to get creative.”

“You have a plan?”

I grin at her question. “Brains outsmart fire.”

Nautia’s muscles relax, and she smiles back at me. “Someone’s cocky about his superpower,” she teases.

I lean down until my forehead touches hers, our breath mixing in the space between us. “I hope soon I’ll get to say the same thing about you.”

Her smile fades, her gaze dropping. “I don’t know, Riley. She knows everything about my power. She’ll use it against all of us.”

“If that’s Cara’s plan, then she’s forgotten about one thing.”

“Yeah? And what is that?”

I pause until her ocean-blue eyes lift to meet mine. Then I grin. “Water puts out fire.”