Elite Metal-ARE-epub (66 page)

Sterling gaped at the screen, a dark abyss opening up in his soul. Roni had been in that car? Fury and panic pummeled him as he watched the Mustang slam into the Mercedes, then rev up and sideswipe it. When the Mercedes careened over the cliff, it felt like a part of him died.

“Wait,” Steele barked. “Back it up.”

Back it up?
He didn’t want to see that footage ever again.

Ant did as he was asked.

“Okay. Freeze it.” Steele leaned closer. “Isn’t that odd?”

“What?” Sterling had to ask, but the word was choked.

Steele touched the screen. “Why is the license plate blurred out?”

Ant shrugged. “Standard SOP when videos are released. Protect the innocent and all that.”

Sterling bristled. “Those fuckers aren’t innocent.” They’d killed Roni’s mother. Crippled her sister. God only knew what kind of damage they had done to her inside. He knew. Hell, he knew what it was like to lose everyone you loved.

“Do you think you can get the undoctored footage?”

“Why?”

“I want to see those plates.”

“On it.”

Ant spun away but stopped short when a soft voice said, “I have the undoctored footage.”

They all whipped around to see Roni standing in the doorway. God only knew how long she’d been listening. Sterling hoped to hell she hadn’t seen the video, but judging from her ashen face, she had.

Chrome’s eyes narrowed. “You do?”

“Yeah. And I had a friend at the FBI run the plates. The car was stolen, but the same plates were used on a car in a Santirios Cartel hit two days before.”

Sterling’s gut clenched. Her words were calm and clear, but he heard, felt, the wobble in them. He wanted to yank her against him, comfort her, hold her. But he couldn’t.

Steele crossed his arms and fixed her with a steady gaze. “You think the cartel killed your mother?”

She tipped up her chin. “I do. And I think Marcus asked them to.”

“Why would they?” Ant asked. “Why would they take a risk like that for him?”

Her features tightened. “He wanted access to her money. And they probably wanted to solidify a relationship with a major US sleaze publisher.”

“Why?”

Roni shook her head. “Because he has information. Loads of it. He has informants everywhere. FBI, CIA, ATF, NSA. Moles in all the top agencies. Probably even knows when raids are being planned.”

Chrome shot a sharp look around the group. “If he’s passing information to Escobar, he’s aiding and abetting every crime that bastard commits.” He turned to Ant. “Let’s see if we can find anything incriminating on that hard drive. Especially relative to Morrow’s relationship with Escobar.”

“Right.”

“I can help.” Again, they all turned their sharp gazes on Roni. Her features firmed. “I know Marcus. His quirks. His foibles. I can help you find what matters much quicker.”

Ant shrugged. “She’s probably right.”

“Of course she’s right. The question is, can we trust her?” Leave it to Chrome to dive right to the heart of the matter.

“They killed her mother,” Sterling said softly. He was aware of Roni’s attention on him, the warmth, the gratitude in her gaze, though he didn’t meet it.

“I do want to help,” she said.

Chrome studied her for a long while before he relented. “All right. But remember, we’re trusting you. The minute you betray that trust, it’s back to the cell. Possibly for good. Got it?”

Her chin wobbled, but she firmed it up and nodded. “I won’t. I won’t betray you. I want to get these fuckers.” The vehemence in her tone was undeniable; it even convinced Chrome.

He nodded curtly. “All right. Get on it. I’ll call in a report and see where…” He trailed off and glanced at Roni. “Where the Powers That Be want us to go with this. In the meantime, you”—he thrust a thumb at Sterling—“keep an eye on…our guest.”

“Yes, sir.” With pleasure. “And sir?”

“Yes?”

He had to ask. “Do you want us to keep her down here?” The command center had an emergency bunker, but it was hardly cozy. The only other place for her to sleep was that cell.

Chrome frowned and scrubbed his chin. He exchanged a glance with Steele. “The three of you can work down here. But she can stay at your place tonight. It’s more…comfortable.”

Ant barked a laugh. “Have you seen his place?”

Sterling nearly smacked him. Yeah, his place was kind of a mess—hardly the kind of place a guy would take a female visitor—but the last thing he needed right now was Ant’s shit about his poor housekeeping skills.

All that mattered was that the guys were coming to trust her. And if the information she helped them dig up proved helpful, then maybe, just maybe, they wouldn’t have to use the nuclear option with her.

Chapter Seven

She worked all day with Ant, uncovering more and more shit on Morrow. There was evidence that he was paying personal expenses from the company account, had dirt on three congressmen and was in the middle of an extortion scheme with a high-placed Hollywood actor.

But that was the tip of the iceberg. The deeper they dug, the more they found.

It bugged Sterling to watch Roni with Ant. The two were far too much alike and they bounced ideas and terms off each other at a rapid-fire pace. He didn’t like the admiration glinting in his friend’s eyes.

He knew Roni wasn’t his—far from it—but shit, she wasn’t Ant’s either. He knew he had nothing to worry about from Ant, but he didn’t like how she smiled at the cowboy. More precisely how she smiled at Ant but frowned at
him
whenever he stopped in to check on them. If she was to be chummy with anyone, it should be with him.

Steele came by the conference room around noon and suggested in a far-too-casual tone that Roni might want to take a break. Maybe get something to eat from the kitchen. His smile was toothy, harsh.

She glanced at Sterling with a question in her eyes, and he nodded. As soon as she left the room, he turned to his boss. “What is it?” he gritted out. Because damn it, he knew Steele. He knew that
look
. He knew it was something. Something shitty.

“Warbucks wants us in.”

Sterling frowned. “What do you mean?”

“He wants us to have an in with Morrow. He wants to be able to watch what he’s doing.” His eyes narrowed. “Do you think she’s up for playing double agent?”

His gut heaved.
Fuck!
“That’s dangerous.”

“Not if she’s smart. And I think she is. It could be very useful having someone close to him.”
Fuck.
“Warbucks also thinks it might prove beneficial to have a way to feed the
Snoop
stories.”

“Disinformation?” Ant’s lips quirked.

“Something like that.”

It took everything in Sterling not to clench his fists. He might have clenched them a little. “You’re asking a lot of her. She hates that guy.”

Steele’s jaw bunched. “We’re offering a lot.”

Sterling frowned. “What?”

“Let’s just say Warbucks has an attorney who specializes in custody cases. And, ahem, his offers are never refused.”

“So she gets her sister back but still has to work for Morrow? We’re not taking him down?”

“Not while he’s useful to us. And with her help, he is. The information we can glean could be game changing.” He turned to Ant. “Is there a way to tap into Morrow’s computer, in real time, without him knowing?”

“We could install a clone.”

“What’s that?”

“Like a mirror. Reflecting everything he does.”

Steele nodded. “Can we do it remotely?”

“Sure. With a virus. But it could be detected, even with his shit-for-nothing firewall. A better option would be to install something in the hardware. That’s tougher to spot.”

“With her feeding him information and him feeding us information, it’s a complete loop. Let’s strategize how we can accomplish infiltrating his hardware.”

Ant nodded. “Computer repairman?”

“Too suspect. We could send
her
in with it.”

Sterling bristled at Steele’s suggestion. “No fucking way. You’re not sending her into a hot situation. She has no training.”

Steele glared at him but didn’t respond. Although he could have. Sterling’s outburst was downright insubordination. He didn’t care.

Ant grunted. “She doesn’t have the computer skills anyway. This is more than just the click and run she’s been doing. It’d have to be me going in.”

Much better idea.

Roni could stay here. With him. Where it was safe.

“I could go in with her.”

Oh, Ant needed to shut up. Just shut up.

Steele mulled over the options for a moment and then nodded. “I think that would work. Sketch out the details and I’ll run it by the boss.” Sterling opened his mouth to protest, but before he could, Steele pinned him with a dark look. “Can I talk to you? In private?”

Oh shit.

Sterling nodded and stood. Ant sent him a sympathetic glance.

Yeah. They both knew what was coming.

Once they were in the hall, Steele rounded on him. “What the fuck is going on?” he asked.

Sterling swallowed. “I think you know.”

“So you fucked her. So it was phenomenal. You need to get back on your game.”

“I am on my game.”

“Bullshit. You’re acting like a horny hound, distracted by a bitch in heat.”

Sterling bristled. His hands closed into fists. CO or not, Steele was about to get decked. And then Steele said something that made his brain stutter to a stop.

“You’re acting like a guy in love.”

The words hit him like a punch to the gut. It wasn’t love. It couldn’t be. He wasn’t capable. Not anymore.

But it was
something
.

When he didn’t respond, Steele leaned in and hissed, “Have you lost your edge? Because I swear to God, Sterling, if you have, I’ll kick your ass myself.”

“I just want to keep her safe. That’s all.”

“We are, none of us, safe.”

“Right. But
we
are trained. She’s not.”

“We’ll get her training. You know the boss. He wouldn’t use her if he wasn’t sure she could handle it. And judging from what I’ve seen today, she can. Besides, she’ll have to go in at some point,” he said. “At some point she’ll have to face him.”

Sterling didn’t like his expression. “What do you mean?”

“Morrow has been texting her phone. Demanding that she return to the office. If her cover is going to hold water, she’ll have to go in.”

Holy God. A volcano erupted in Sterling’s belly. “And when she does?”

“And when she does, we’ll have her back.”

“Will we?”

Steele clapped him on the shoulder. “We will. I promise. Okay?”

“Yeah. Okay.” A grumble.

“If she joins the team, she’s one of us. You understand?”

Yeah. He liked the sound of that. If she joined the team, she wouldn’t leave him and—

His heart stilled. His mind spun.

And yeah. Fuck. That was it. He didn’t want to lose her. Couldn’t lose her.

Steele studied him. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I’ll be fine.” He turned away, though he had no idea where he was going. Just away. Just somewhere where he could think. Sort this out. It was—

“And Sterling?” His boss’s call stopped him in his tracks.

“Yeah?”

“Take a good look in the mirror.”

Sterling’s brow knitted. “In the mirror?”

“Yeah. Because what I see in your face is the same expression I see on mine whenever I think of Alayna.”

Fuck.

But Steele wasn’t done. He leaned in and said softly, “It’s time to let Dancer go.”

The words echoed in his heart and his soul and his mind, twined with the horror of her scream as she fell.

It’s time to let Dancer go.

Release his hold on the past and open up to something new? Maybe something less illusive than wispy dreams and clouded memories?

The thought scared him to death. But somewhere, deep inside, a sprig sprouted. It felt very much like hope. With a dash of need.

Sterling had to get away. He needed to breathe. To process.

Steele was right. He usually was. It was time to let Dancer go. Time to release the hold her death had on him. Release the guilt. It wasn’t his fault she’d died. Any one of them could have bought it in that clusterfuck. It just killed him that he’d had to witness it. That he couldn’t help her. Save her.

And now, this.

Now Steele wanted to send Roni in. Into the line of fire.

Granted, there might not be actual bullets, but Morrow was in bed with the cartel, and God knew who else. He was a dangerous man, and they were plotting to subvert his operation. If he found out…

If he found out…

Sterling’s blood went cold.

To clear his head, he headed up top. Partly to get away from the sight of Roni and Ant with their heads so close together—it made his gut knot—partly to think in peace, and partly to clean his place. Ant was right. It was a disaster, and if he was bringing Roni here tonight—and he fully intended to, come hell or high water—he didn’t want to scare her.

It took him a couple hours to clear out the empty beer cans and pizza boxes, scrub down the toilet and wash the sheets. By the time he was done, it was early evening. A trickle of excitement washed through him. He couldn’t wait to get her alone. It had been far too long.

Of course, he had to acknowledge, things had changed between them since they’d last made love. Now he knew who she really was and vice versa. It was possible that she wouldn’t want to
be
with him again. And if that was the case, fine.

It would suck—more than he might be able to bear—but fine.

He would still do what he could to help her. Help her get her sister back. Help protect her. Even if, when this was all over, she never wanted to see him again.

It irritated him to no end that when he went back to the command center to collect her, she and Ant were sitting at the table and laughing.
Laughing.
A ripple danced down his spine. First, because he loved the sound of her laughter. And second, because she’d never laughed like that with him.