Colorado Hitch (8 page)

While in the New York airport, he and Marshal didn’t talk as they waited for their plane to Colorado Springs. It took him a long while to settle down, and just before they called for his plane to board, he sent a text to Davis.

Ryan: That was stressful. In U.S., about to board a plane from NYC to CS. Love you.

Davis: We’ll talk when you get home. We received the files you and Marshal sent. We have leads.

Ryan wanted to tell Marshal about what he’d learned from Davis, but he stayed with the plan, hiding their knowledge of each other until they were at the car in Colorado Springs. At each airport, they changed their look a little, turning their sweatshirts inside out, displaying a different color and donning different ball caps. If anyone in London had figured out they were working together, they would be hard pressed to follow them all the way to Colorado Springs.

“Fuck, that was stressful,” Ryan said as he slid into the passenger seat of the truck. He slumped down, strapping on his seatbelt before resting his head against the seat back.

“That was a cakewalk,” Marshal said.

“Are you kidding me? When that woman started asking questions, I almost freaked.”

“But you didn’t.” Marshal turned over the engine and pulled out of the parking spot.

“Are all missions that stressful?” Ryan glanced at Marshal. Maybe he was being a baby about the issue and just needed to calm down.

“You won’t be confronted by someone on every mission. That’s unnerving when it happens. Usually, you’re far from your target and don’t ever have to talk. It’s easier when you just pull the trigger and walk away. On many of our missions, we have no direct contact with people. Sometimes we do because we’re delivering poison, but that doesn’t happen often.”

“I thought you said this was a cakewalk?” Ryan chuckled as he switched on his phone, picking up messages from Davis.

Marshal glanced at him, his lips turning up in a grin that was slightly evil. “Gets the blood pumping, though, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it did that. Is that what you like about doing the missions? The excitement, the thrill?”

Marshal scrubbed at his jaw before placing both hands back on the steering wheel. “Partially. Also, there’s this thing that happened.”

Ryan waited for Marshal to speak as they left the city. Minutes ticked by, and Ryan thought Marshal wasn’t going to tell him what had happened then Marshal began talking.

“I was in Germany back when I was a Marine, and we were out for a night, just trying to relax after coming off a couple of hard weeks under heavy fire. You know how it is.”

“Yeah.” Ryan kept his gaze on Marshal as he spoke. He remembered how it felt coming off weeks of being stationed in Afghanistan, the dirt so thick it felt like it stayed in his lungs for days. Germany had been refreshing.

“There was this girl. She was screaming about this guy. We went over and tried to find out what was wrong. The cops told us to leave. You know, here we are, these big badass Marines, full of muscle and testosterone. The German police probably thought we were the troublemakers. We were forced to walk away. I couldn’t go back and get the girl, you know, save her. Anyway, one of my first cases here at Wild Bluff was about sex trafficking. The main guy we took out was the dude from Germany, the one who was causing that girl problems. I remembered him. Hell, I’ll never forget his face.”

“What about the girl?” Ryan asked.

Marshal shrugged and exhaled slowly. “I don’t know. She’s either so lost no one will ever find her or she’s dead. The dude I killed abducted women and sold them to rich men in other countries. In Germany, even when I was a badass Marine, I couldn’t do anything about the jerk. I couldn’t save innocent people from harm. Here, at Wild Bluff, I have a real chance to make a difference for teen girls and boys who could have been taken but weren’t because we'd cleaned up what others wouldn't or couldn’t. I can take out terrorist that governments can’t touch. I can get rid of trash that doesn’t ever seem to be caught by the local cops. I can do things I couldn’t when I was in the military. That’s why I love Wild Bluff.”

“Even with the way special teams operate now, this is better?” Ryan knew some of the special teams in the military had more leeway, but he wasn’t sure how effective they could really be.

“They still have to answer to someone. We just have to answer to ourselves. Yes, we turn down some jobs but we also take care of a lot of trash.”

Ryan nodded and stared out the window. “What if we make a mistake?”

“There are a lot of checks and balances. If there are any doubts, we turn the job down. Grant and I just turned down one the other day. Yes, the guy was scum but he was run-of-the-mill scum, not terrible-horrible scum who hurt innocent people.”

Ryan drew in a deep breath, wishing he’d had more power when he’d been in the military. Having the official backing of the government gave weight, but that weight dragged them down, preventing them from making real changes at times. “So far, I like the ranch. On my next assignment, I think I can do better.”

“You know, it’s tough having to lie to someone’s face. We have a huge responsibility and things happen. Guys get injured, we improvise, but we work together as a team to make sure we stay strong. That’s why we have down time at the ranch, why we built the O, why we do movie night, and why we study and train. Every time we go out on a mission, it’s dangerous. Even checking files at a warehouse, things can happen. Keeping our group secret is imperative, and that’s why we work as a team.”

“The disguises—do you really think they couldn’t figure it out?”

“I’m fairly certain. We walked with our heads down. We used sunglasses at times. Other times, we changed everything and didn’t use the glasses or caps. It would be almost impossible for them to track us across the globe and know how to find us. We have to be careful, but we’re good.”

“At first, I thought the costumes were ridiculous but now I understand.”

Marshal nodded as he took the exit for their ranch.

Ryan sighed as the familiar mountain came into view. When he’d first arrived there with Davis, he’d worried about the isolation, now he liked it. Living in Boston had been nice, but being here on the ranch with these guys was amazing. They were friends, and having Davis by his side and in his bed made everything perfect. Davis had found a way into his heart and into his life. He wasn’t sure if he would have fallen so hard for his man if their first few hours together hadn’t been mixed with terror and troubles. Now, he couldn’t imagine a world without Davis in it.

Chapter Twelve

The minute they’d received the notes from Marshal and Ryan, they'd began pouring over the information, checking the pages for names that stood out. They had a list of names attached to pages and receipts. Davis observed the semi-chaotic mess as he took a few minutes to breathe, drink some coffee, and try to figure out a pattern. There was one note displayed on a huge monitor at the back of the room. A person named Daphne Wall had rented a safety deposit box from a bank in Paris. He'd been trying to figure out if she was important when it had clicked. He’d seen that name before. Where had he seen it?

Sweat popped out on his upper lip, as his nerves grew more agitated. Maybe he was making too much of it, but he felt the need to have all eyes on Daphne Wall. Did he have the authority to do that? Could he ask everyone to change what they were doing and look at what he thought was important? Being new in a group with men this skilled was different. Sure, he’d spent years working on covert operations, studying details, sifting through paperwork, and this was his thing, but these guys didn’t know to trust him.

That name?
His heart twisted, and he could almost see the piece of paper. Her name scrawled on a receipt, but he didn’t remember what it was from.
That name!

Heat flashed through him, and he opened his mouth to speak but held back. He had to say something. Davis closed his eyes and focused on that name. Where had he seen it? The need to speak up grew with each passing second. He opened his eyes and took in the men, watching them work, their heads down in concentration, and he knew the time to express his concern about Daphne Wall was now or never.

“I have something,” Davis said in a near whisper, too low to get anyone’s attention. He almost didn’t want to bring it up because this would change everything. Not just their focus, but it would mean he'd have to take an active role in this mission. No longer could he be the new guy who stayed in the background. He would have to step up and lead them.

“Hey,” he said louder, his confidence growing with each passing second. “I have something.”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and all heads turned toward him. Seconds ticked by in silence. Now that he had their attention, he needed to work this out. They may think him crazy and dismiss his line of logic, but he had to give it a go.

“Daphne Wall—I’ve seen that name before but I didn’t know where.”

“Go on,” Grant said.

“Daphne Wall’s name was on a piece of paper, a receipt for an apartment rented in the States. Virginia, I think. It was something that caught my eye in the file I'd studied on Craig, after I came here with Ryan. Then, there is her name on papers related to a place in Leeds.”

“Okay, so you’ve been through the file on Craig. What else sticks out?” Grant asked.

Someone had started typing off to his left, but he ignored the sound. “She has to be our key. So on the other receipt, her name was either Daphne with another last name, or the first name was different but the last name was Wall. It’s her. Has to be her. Now, we just need to figure out who Daphne Wall really is.”

“Got a hit,” Tucker called out.

“Show us,” Grant said.

“Daphne Wall seems to be the alias for a woman named Lila Dickerson and Linda Wall. She was born in England and has been in too many places Craig traveled too. I don’t like it.”

“Okay, guys, new task.” Grant paced around to the side of the room, glancing down at a computer before continuing to speak. “Everyone figures out if this Daphne Wall person is important or if we can push her aside.”

“I’ll take flight information from the past, searching each travel date for her and her aliases,” Tucker said.

“Good, go back for the last ten years and find out where she’s been. See if any of the trips Craig took intersect with her whereabouts at the time.”

Roger stood and moved next to Tucker. “I’ll assist in looking at travel dates.”

“Billy and Mike, could you two track down all of the places she lived? Any known associates. Everything that may be important.”

“Got it,” both Billy and Mike chimed in.

“Zander, you and I will continue dissecting the files we received from Marshal and Ryan.”

Zander moved his workstation next to Grant’s, and the pair started going through the rest of the pages. Davis switched to hunting through every mention they had of Daphne Wall/Lila Dickerson/Linda Wall or any variation of those names. The intense nature of their searches held them mostly quiet except for the occasional murmur spoken when someone found something of interest.

Working for a purpose felt right. The military had been good for a while, being with the CIA had been an interesting experiment, but this was where he felt he could do the most good. He liked being here, liked being a part of this group. Once they started working more missions, he knew he would feel even better about moving to Wild Bluff. Even with the issues with Duff, Davis knew this was the best place for him to be.

*~*~*

Grant sat next to Zander, pouring over paperwork recovered from the Leeds’ office. Guilt filled him as he searched through the receipts, notes, and other papers that he should have taken with him when he’d been in Leeds, but had to leave behind because he hadn’t planned out what he’d been doing.

Stupidity had ruled on that trip. He’d been angry with Craig and angry with himself. How could he have possibly believed that Craig had loved him when everything had pointed the other way? And how the hell could he have gone off to Leeds and acted so rashly? He’d been stupid and that stupidity could get them all killed.

He hated the problems his actions in England had caused. Then there was the time before he’d run off to Leeds, when he thought Craig could do no wrong, that was still causing them problems. All foolishness aside, going after Craig without thinking things through had been wrong. He knew that now, and it was a lesson he would never forget.

Maybe he really was ready to take over running the ranch. He and Marshal could do this. Duff was getting older and wasn’t going to be able to stay at Wild Bluff much longer. Duff wanted to be involved, but Grant couldn’t allow him deep in the thick of things, not when his health demanded he rest. Duff was an important part of this group, and he hoped everything could be worked out. Eventually they’d have to make a decision, he only hoped they could find a way to keep Duff in the mix some how, even if it was only in a consulting role.

They worked for hours, eating soup that Duff had made, drinking coffee and water, taking few breaks, and by the time Marshal and Ryan landed in Colorado Springs, Grant felt they had a handle on the situation.

Daphne Wall had been in the area when Craig had gone after Davis. She’d followed Davis to Boston, and she had to be the one who’d spilled his whereabouts. It had been a set up. She had insider information and now they needed to take her down.

Grant changed the display on the monitors to the most recent photograph confirmed to be Daphne. It was her driver’s license photo from six years ago. It wasn’t much, and she could disguise her face, but it was all they had.

“Daphne Wall—we need to find her. She helped Craig, she’s dangerous, and she needs to be stopped.”

A chime sounded, and the display changed to a live shot of Marshal pulling the truck onto the property. The guys were back and they needed to be debriefed. Then the group could finish going over all of the new evidence they’d received.

“We’ll break for an hour and give Marshal and Ryan time to settle. Our top priority is finding Daphne and seeing how deep this goes. We need to take care of this woman and either send her to prison or eliminate the threat.”