Dead No More (5 page)

CHAPTER EIGHT

Wednesday, September 17, 10:00 a.m.

L
ILY
STUDIED
HER
MARK
from the trees along the running path, hidden within their shadows. Dakota sat obediently on her right side. She reached down and stroked the soft fur on the top of his head. He pushed her hand with his wet nose. Her eyes wandered behind her dark, oversize, oval sunglasses, traveling down Derek’s powerful back to his defined legs. With every stride, his quads tightened and straightened. The muscles in his back strained against the running shirt, which was dark from sweat.

She had to admit, she enjoyed the view.

Derek turned and ran toward her. Dakota got up as Derek stopped in front of Lily.

“Morning, sunshine.”
He smiled at her, then bent down and rubbed Dakota behind the ears. “Hey there, handsome.”

Dakota nuzzled Derek’s neck and Lily’s mouth dropped open.
What the...?
She’d never seen Dakota take to another person like he’d taken to Derek, not even Jackson. She trusted her dog’s intuition more so than her own...
he’d
never gotten into bed with the enemy. Dakota nuzzled Derek’s neck again and she cleared her throat. “I’m here to talk to you about your proposition, Derek.”

Looking up, he grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that.” Straightening, Derek ran his hand through his short brown hair and tipped his head toward the water. “Walk with me?”

They veered off the running path and headed toward the river walk, making their way to the farthest bench overlooking the river. Lily peeked up at her companion. At five-nine, she wasn’t short for a woman, but his large build dwarfed her and—yep, damn it—he was still as smoking hot up close as she’d remembered. Sinking down onto the worn wooden bench, she turned slightly to keep her line of sight open.

“I see you haven’t lost your instincts.”

“No, I haven’t, which is the only reason I’m willing to listen.” She crossed her legs and bounced her right foot. It was a bad habit she had when she focused, one she’d never been able to break, no matter how much she’d tried. “There are no ears here, so start talking.”

“No, there are not.” Laughter played in Derek’s eyes. He hooked his hands together and leaned his head back. “I work directly for John Elsworth, CEO of ARME Industries—”

Lily stopped bouncing her foot and whistled. Nearly every advance in modern warfare and weaponry during the twenty-first century had its genesis within ARME’s walls.

Derek glanced at her. “Heard of him?”

“Not him, no.” She shook her head. “But I wouldn’t know my stuff if I didn’t know that ARME is our leading weapons manufacturer.”

He lifted his face toward the sun. “Exactly. ARME and John are one and the same. When one is threatened, the other is, and vice versa. I’ve been working this case undercover for almost a year now as Elsworth’s security adviser.”

“Unit 67 has you working as a glorified security guard.” Lily smirked and went back to bouncing her foot.

“Easy, tiger.” Derek gave her a sideways glare. “Not all assignments are the glamorous kind.”

“Ain’t that the truth. But I can’t help it—just calling it how it is.” She shrugged and winked at him.

He did a double take, his eyes growing wider at her unexpectedly playful response. Seeing him caught off guard only made Lily want to laugh that much more—served him right. He caught her eye and they stared at each other for a moment. The wind fluttered, whipping her dark hair around her jaw, and he smiled, his expression softening. Lily sat back.
Wow.
Time to rein it in, Andrews.

“Sorry, please continue,” she said, smiling wryly.

“There’s been chatter that his COO, Rowland James, is working behind the scenes on certain business deals that could put the company, and subsequently the family, in harm’s way. My objective has been twofold—protect Elsworth and his family, and gather as much intel on Rowland James as possible to put him away and neutralize any possible national security threat.”

“Wait.” Lily’s brows pinched together. “Couldn’t the local cops take care of protecting his family? It seems a bit extreme to bring in black ops for babysitting duty.”

Derek hesitated.

The muscles in Lily’s shoulders constricted. She didn’t have time, or the mental energy, to walk into anything with less than complete transparency. Fair? Hardly. But
he’d
come after
her
. The ball was squarely in her court, and she wasn’t waiting around to see if Derek would play nice. Not this time. She jumped up.

“Lily. Wait a minute. Where are you going?”

“If you won’t be honest with me, then this partnership—or whatever you want to call it—is over.” She turned to leave.

He reached for her hand, wrapped his fingers around her wrist. She jerked away and glared at him.

“Read me in. Now. Or I’m gone.”

“Damn, woman. You’re impatient.”

She was running on a short fuse, no doubt. She tilted her head to the side, stared him down.

He sighed. “Rowland James is a known associate of multiple enemies of the state—”

“What?” She paced, her mind crunching Derek’s information. She glanced over her shoulder and frowned. “Then why in the world is he allowed anywhere near ARME?”

“He hasn’t broken any laws. Until he trips up and does something quantifiably targeting the United States, our hands are tied.”

“Why can’t John fire him?”

“It’s not that simple. Over the last two years, Rowland has been quietly buying up stock and currently owns 30 percent of ARME’s stocks. The board would have to have a majority vote to oust him from his position, but he could still use his controlling interest in the company to get some of his own people on the board.”

She shook her head. That made sense, but damn, she hated political bullshit. “Unbelievable. And the rest of this happy equation?”

“As you already know, ARME is one of our government’s leading suppliers for all things military and its top research facility. If John was out of the picture, Rowland James would be the most likely candidate to replace him.”

“Which is a huge problem.”

“Exactly. He’d have complete access to all of our top-secret projects.”

Now everything made sense
.
Lily sat.

“Obviously, that’s something the US government would like to prevent—at all costs. That’s where you come in.” He motioned toward her. “Not to whore yourself out, which is crude, by the way...”

Lily cringed, her cheeks growing warm. Though it had saved her on more than one occasion, her Spanish feistiness also got her in just as much trouble. Case in point? Yesterday.

“But with the way you’ve been trained...get inside his inner circle, find the evidence we need and put him away. Permanently.”

“If this Rowland James character is so hard to get near, how do you propose I do it without raising his suspicion?” Lily reached for Dakota and stroked the soft hair on his ears. Without giving Derek a second to respond, she continued slowly. “Because he will be suspicious.”

“All we have to do is find the right opportunity for you to be in the same room with him, and
he
will come to
you
.” Derek turned, pinning Lily with those damn eyes of his. She all but forgot to breathe. “Guaranteed.”

Bouncing her foot, she tried her best to push back the flutter in her stomach. Her nerves tingled in anticipation. “And when will such an opportunity arise?”

“Saturday night. There’s a black-tie event at the Joslyn Art Museum for the who’s who of Omaha. Rowland will be attending.” Derek stared straight ahead. “How’s your calendar looking Saturday?”

Her calendar was wide-open—had been for months—but she shook her head. “I can’t just waltz into this event and saunter up to someone like Rowland. It’ll raise too many red flags...if I can even get close enough to him.”

“I know. That’s why I’m going with you as your date.”

“Wait. What? You’re going...” The bouncing halted. Lily glanced over at Derek, who silently stared out over the river. She tried to play it cool, but the idea of spending an entire evening with Derek was surprisingly appealing.

“John has a previous engagement and asked me to go in his place.” Derek looked over at her. “Care to join me?” he asked softly.

This was exactly the type of mission she lived for, craved...missed desperately. And having Derek as her partner for the evening wouldn’t be so bad, either. Lily prayed she could maintain a poker face. No need to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d roped her into this mission hook, line and sinker.

“It’s in three days. That’s not a lot of time to prep.” She shook her head and began to rattle off the imperative information she needed. “Bodyguards, arrival times, accessibility...”

“So I take it you’re in?”

Her second chance looked back at her, his gentle eyes burning away all her defenses. Lily looked out over the river and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. This was the opportunity she’d hoped for—after not knowing, not acting, and walking away.

Redemption
.

With one word, her entire life would change. She just didn’t know whether it was a good change or not.

Only one way to find out.

“Yes.”

CHAPTER NINE

Wednesday, September 17, 6:00 p.m.

L
ILY
HAD
BALKED
at meeting at Derek’s place, which had been a relief. He’d rolled the dice by dropping in on her at the river and gotten lucky. Very lucky. Taking up shop just across the street from her was a different matter entirely. He hadn’t quite figured out how he would have explained
that
one away if she’d accepted his veiled offer.

Somehow, he doubted Lady Luck would have been on his side twice.

As he juggled the large file box, Derek pushed open the tall glass door to Lily’s building and headed into the grand foyer, the white marble floor reflecting his shadow, and glanced around. He’d spotted the cameras, both seen and unseen, the first time he’d walked in.

Today, their locations were different. He couldn’t help but smile.
Nice job.

The doorman stared at Derek, his black eyes hard and searching, reminding him of an enormous Maasai warrior he’d once met on one of his 67 trips to Africa.

“I’m here to see Lily Andrews, penthouse.”

The old man glared at him. “Yes. I’m aware of that.”

Though the information wasn’t in Lily’s file—which irritated the shit out of him—it hadn’t taken Derek long to piece together that both George and Ben had a background similar to his own. Ben Tinsdale was a no-brainer. The man was a legend within Unit 67.

George, on the other hand, was a bit of a mystery.

Derek had watched the massive black man until he was certain. There was no denying it, in the way George moved, and with his access to Lily and Ben. It screamed that something was missing in the papers that chronicled Lily’s short life—he definitely played some role in her life in Omaha, and quite possibly even before.

He quickly read the situation. The big man staring him down had gone from DEFCON 5 to DEFCON 1 overnight. Time to diffuse
that
ticking time bomb.

Derek dropped the file box on the counter and reached out his hand. “Let me get straight to the point here, George. I’m not the enemy.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Jury’s still out on that one.” George grabbed Derek’s hand and squeezed, hard. “But let me get straight to the point, too. I’m watching you.”

Derek locked eyes with the man trying to crush his hand bones and smiled. “No doubt.”

George let go and tipped his head toward the elevators. Derek silently made his way to his waiting ride and
resisted the urge to shake his hand until
after
the elevator doors closed.

Damn, that old man had the grip of Godzilla.

* * *

L
ILY
’
S
FRONT
DOOR
swung open before Derek could knock. Impressive. Cameras downstairs. Monitor upstairs. What other surprises did this woman have up her sleeve? He was sure there were plenty, and he hoped to uncover every single one of them.

“Hey.” Her brown hair was pulled back into a high, messy ponytail. She wore a black tank and matching yoga pants. There wasn’t a spot of makeup on her olive skin.

She was beautiful.

His stomach tightened.
Focus, Moretti.

She glanced at the box of case files in his arms and grimaced. “This is the part I could’ve lived without.”

Stepping back, she let him through the door, then closed it tightly behind them.

“You and me both. But there’s no getting around it. We have less than three days to bring you up to speed, and we need to put together your file. Rowland will vet you, so we need your identity to be airtight.”

“I thought you might say that,” Lily said, grinning. “I’ll be right back.”

She disappeared into her bedroom for less than sixty seconds, then reemerged, balancing her open laptop. “Already started.”

Of course she had.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was exactly why he wanted—needed, really—Lily on this case. She knew the outer workings of this game just as well, if not better, than he did, and a solid, unbreakable file was crucial to the success of their mission—and essential to keeping her alive.

She set the computer down on the island and turned it to face him. “Take a look. Rowland is your guy, so feel free to add whatever information you feel is pertinent.”

Derek set his box of files next to the computer and silently scanned through her backstory, checking for any inconsistencies. He found none. “Impressive.”

She leaned against the counter, an embarrassed smile lighting her face, and shrugged. “Thanks.”

“Now we bring in the big guns.” He reached for his phone and punched in his security code.

“Wait, what? What are you doing?”

“Testing to make sure this thing holds.” He punched in a number he knew by heart, held the phone to his ear and waited, grinning at the sight of Lily’s scrunched forehead.

A soft, feminine voice answered on the third ring. “Hey, D.”

Derek smiled at his baby sister’s nickname. Alexis didn’t call any of her brothers by their given name, hadn’t since she was old enough to talk.

“Hey, sweetheart.”

Confusion swept Lily’s face, and her brows arched in a silent question. He threw her a wink. She turned away, color rushing her cheeks. Derek turned his attention back to the other woman in his life. “You have a second?”

“For you? Always.”

“Great. I need red.” Red was their term to go secure on any line. His genius baby sister had figured out a way to scramble their calls without needing a special phone. It had saved all the Moretti brothers at one point or another.

“Go ahead,” she said, her voice high with excitement.

“I just sent you a file. I need you to run a background check on it, see if you can find any holes or discrepancies.”

“Easy peasy.” Her tech skills were legendary and highly sought-after. She’d been able to hack into the FBI database without leaving any type of footprint since she was fifteen. Vetting Lily’s cover story
would
be child’s play for Alexis. “When do you need it done?”

“Yesterday.”

“How about thirty minutes?” she countered.

“Sounds perfect. I’ll wait for the call.” He hung up and pocketed his phone.

“Okay, I’ll bite,” Lily said. “Who was that?”

“My baby sister, Alexis.”

Lily’s mouth popped open. “You sent my encrypted file to your
sister
?”

“Easy, tiger. There’s no one else on this planet that I’d want to make sure your file is bulletproof. Trust me.”

“Okay, but we’re going to need something stronger than water tonight.” Lily headed to the kitchen and called over her shoulder, “What do you want, Merlot or Guinness?”

Derek followed her movement with his eyes. What he wanted to drink didn’t matter, not when he was in the same room with Lily.
Especially
not with her walking around with that tight black getup hugging her curves just so, no matter how he looked at her.

She stood on her tiptoes and reached for a glass on the top shelf, her shirt riding up, exposing her soft yet tight stomach.
Oh, shit.
“Guinness.”

Lily obliged and rejoined him at the island, handing him his chilled beer and staring down at the overflowing box. He took a sip of the frothy liquid and watched as she grabbed half the case files and, bypassing the table, plopped herself on the floor. Without a word she spread the files out, arranging them and rearranging them, and finally made herself at home on the floor among the information.

As she caught her lower lip between her teeth, he couldn’t help but stare. She flipped through Rowland’s folder, stopped, turned back a page and frowned. Tossing the file aside, she bent forward and stretched for a file just beyond her reach. The neckline of her tank fell open slightly, revealing a sexy, black lace bra. Derek did a double take, staring at the soft feminine form playing peekaboo with his libido.

He scrubbed his hands over his face and swallowed hard, unable to focus. He couldn’t believe he was in the same room with Lily instead of watching her through a scope. He cringed inwardly.
That sounded creepy.
He took a swig of his beer. It was the truth, though, wasn’t it?

What had started as a simple mission directive—
keep an eye on Lily Andrews
—from Director Kennedy months ago had turned into something more. Much more. At least for Derek. He’d have to be a dead man not to notice her sex appeal, her strength and dogged determination, or how—despite the shit life had handed her—she attacked each new day with a fresh vigor, which surprised even Derek.

But he wasn’t dead.

He was alive and kicking...and every cell in his body went on full alert whenever she was near.

Now he wanted to know everything about Lily—not just what he could see through a scope. He wanted to know what made her
tick
. What went on behind those mesmerizing hazel eyes when they locked on to a target. It was almost as if a nebulous star had exploded within them: a rich chocolate hue warmed to a honeyed gold before giving way to an exotic teal green. He glanced over at her and was surprised to see her quietly studying him. For a moment, he got lost in the vibrancy of her gaze.

Color kissed the tops of her mile-high cheekbones as she looked away.

Yeah, he wanted to know everything about her, all right.
He took a swig of his beer. But was the feeling mutual? How much would she let him in? Would she be honest with him about George? Ben?
Jackson?

“Tell me about your doorman.”

Lily’s head snapped up, and she slowly set down the file in her hand. “George? Why?”

She reached for her glass and took a sip.

“Because he’s one of us.” Derek kept his tone casual, curious to see what tale she’d weave. He could easily go to the director and gain access to both men’s files, as it pertained to the case,
especially
now that Lily was part of it, but Derek posed the question to see how much of the internal wall she’d constructed he’d be able to dismantle. He wanted—needed, really—Lily to share, let him in. To trust. So he pushed harder. “So is Ben.”

She choked on her wine. Carefully placing the glass down, a nervous laugh escaped her lips. “You don’t miss much, do you?”

“Part of what makes me so good at my job.” He winked at her, then grew serious. “But what I don’t understand is how they ended up here. As a doorman. And a coffee-shop owner.”

Lily traced her finger around the top of her wineglass. “Would you drop it if I said they were family friends?”

“Not a chance. Start talking, babycakes.” Derek froze.
Shit
. He hadn’t meant to call her that. It had just slipped out
.

A tiny smile twitched at her lips. Derek caught the twinkle in her eyes and his hopes rose slightly. Maybe his slip of the tongue was
exactly
what he needed to break down her invisible barrier.

Her brow arched and she drilled him with her eyes, the playful smile widening. “Babycakes?”

“Let’s just circle back to George and Ben,” Derek muttered into his beer.

She laughed, the sound light and airy, then brought the wineglass back to her mouth, taking a small sip. Setting the glass down again, she let out a sigh. “Can’t you just ask them yourself?”

“And miss out on watching you squirm? Nah. I’d prefer this approach.” He tipped his head up in a quick nod. “Start with George.”

“Not everything is going to be unlocked to you. I know that might shock that handsome little brain of yours, but some things are outside your clearance.”

My clearance?
“You’re kidding—”

She lifted her hand in the air, and he swallowed his comeback. “No, I’m not. And I’m not trying to be a bitch about it, either. There are just some files buried so deep it would take you a million lifetimes to cut through the red tape and secrecy wrapped around them. Better to leave some things alone.”

“But you know.”

She looked away.

Gotcha, babycakes
. He winced a bit. Damn it. He needed to get that, whatever
that
was, under control. If the director even suspected that Derek had a thing for the irresistible brunette sprawled out on the floor, he’d be jerked from the case so fast his head would spin.

Unit 67 didn’t tolerate relationships, end of story.

“Red tape and secrecy aside, George hasn’t lost that touch. I know he’s one of us.” Derek locked his gaze with hers and refused to blink. They sat in silence. Neither moved. Neither breathed. He bit back a laugh, then smirked at her.
I can do this all day, babyc—shit. Knock it off, Moretti.

Lily jumped up and stalked to the kitchen. He followed and leaned against the counter, watching her. What trigger had he just pushed? She reached for the bottle of Merlot and poured herself another large glass. As she swirled the crimson liquid, she stared off into space. Derek studied her closely, fascinated.
Where have you gone?

“I didn’t just stumble into this line of work,” she said in a quiet voice. “I was born into it. Literally.”

Derek’s eyebrows arched. That wasn’t what he’d expected to hear. Recruited? Yes. Born into it? No. What was this? The mob?

“I know that sounds dramatic and all, but it’s not. Both my parents were black ops.”

Derek nearly choked on his beer.
Her parents were black ops.
Well, wasn’t this pretty little story getting stranger by the second? Derek took a deep breath. No wonder he hadn’t been able to gather any intel on her earlier years; her mere existence was against protocol.

She leaned against the opposite counter and took another sip. “George trained them. He’s been around a long time. He’s family. End of story.”

Bullshit.
The more Derek tugged at the thin golden string that was Lily Andrews, the stranger her story unraveled. “Not likely. Keep talking.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Not sure what more there is to say. He’s like the grandfather I never knew, never had.”

“Go on.”

“My folks being together was frowned upon, just as it is now.”

He grimaced. Wasn’t
that
the truth.

“Envision everyone’s surprise when they not only got married, but then had me.”