Honeymoon To Die For (39 page)

“We’ll know once I get my hands on the shooter, but until then Hubrecht would be foolish to move against us without finding out what we know.”  Ryder still couldn’t reconcile the idea of the staunch patriot that he’d known growing up as Hubrecht Van Dyke with the idea of that same man supplying arms to terrorists, but he wasn’t ruling out anything with so many possibilities.

“True. At this point, it could be anyone and based on what happened tonight at the office, I’m thinking Janeen and Sam Long might be working together. I’m not ruling out Kale either since he has access to everything.”

He’d considered that after the encounter tonight. “I don’t care who it is right now. If our leaving rattles the person we’re looking for, then maybe when we disappear they’ll panic and make a mistake. I’ll be ready for whoever comes for us.”

At the car, Bianca stopped him with a hand on his chest. “If we leave Atlanta, Murdock will send someone after us. He’ll think you’re kidnapping me.”

“Not if you convince him otherwise.”

“Are you on crack? What am I supposed to tell him? That we decided to go on a honeymoon after all?”

Ryder backed her up against his car. He put a hand on the hood and leaned in, his lips an inch from hers when he said, “You said you needed time to go through everything you’ve found. We’ll go somewhere no one can interfere.”  

Her eyes went to his lips. She swallowed and breathed faster. “Yes, but I, uh, don’t know if he’ll go for that.”  

Ryder couldn’t help himself. He kissed her just to taste her again, but one taste didn’t satisfy him. Never would. When he ended the kiss, he added, “In that case, tell him we do need some honeymoon time.
I’m
all for it.”

CHAPTER 42

“Ryder and Bianca have left.”

“You mean the city?” Munk scowled into the phone receiver and thought up a choice way to kill his client as he rode back down the elevator he’d just ridden up from the hotel parking garage. He should be knocking down a shot of smooth whiskey right now, not heading out to fix his client’s screwups.

“Yes, the city.”

Ryder thought he could escape? Munk should have taken the shot when he had it and to hell with this client. “I just spent the night traipsing around the woods, taking
missed
shots. That’s fucking bullshit and not what I do.”

“Ryder left a message that he’ll be back by Monday. Some bunk about needing a couple of days together, but I don’t believe it. I’m sure he’s running to keep her safe, which is perfect as long as you find him before Sunday.”

What was going down on Sunday? Munk’s extra sense, the one that kept him alive, was telling him this operation was falling apart and that he shouldn’t be anywhere near his client when Sunday rolled around.

Munk said, “Give me the word and neither one of them will be a problem.”  He’d do the woman first while Ryder watched. He owed his old buddy a special treat.

“No!” his client snapped. “Ryder has to be alive on Sunday. That’s non-negotiable.”  

“What about wifey?”

“I’d thought for sure she’d break by now and show her hand,” his client went on. “She can’t really be in love with Ryder, which leaves some arrangement either between the two of them or between her and someone else. I’m not ruling out that she’s still with the FBI either. Her and Ryder’s jaunt out of town may play in our favor.”

“That changes everything,” Munk warned. “I can’t be expected to control the outcome of accidents when there’s no time for thorough planning. One, or both of them, might end up severely hurt.”  

“Fine, but just don’t kill Ryder until I say so. With Ryder and Bianca out of the public eye, this will be a perfect time to grab her and find out the truth behind this scam marriage. I need to know if she’s still with the FBI. If Ryder really believes she got him out of jail, then he’ll be so busy keeping an eye on her he’ll eventually make a mistake. First we have to find them.”

Glad to have his hands untied, Munk grinned. “Looks like you owe me a bonus since I have a tracking unit attached to Ryder’s car.

“With his background, he’ll find it.”

“Not this one. It’s concealed in a false lug nut.”

“How’d you do that?”

Munk tossed his duffle bag into the sport utility he’d rented. “You pay me to make these thing happen. Not give tutorials.”

“True,” his client conceded. “Get your hands on Bianca as fast as you can and let me know when you’re ready to move, because I want to talk to her myself. You can do what you want once I get the answers I’m after, but make sure she can’t talk to anyone once you’re done with her. Bianca will provide one more criminal charge against Ryder.”

“Why would that matter when it sounds like you’ve got something way worse planned for Sunday than a simple kidnapping and murder to pin on Ryder?”

“Millions will hate him for orchestrating the Sunday attack. But there are those who will not easily accept that the Ryder they knew could do that. However, everyone can hate a man who brutalizes and kills a new wife who sacrificed all for his freedom. If Bianca
is
working undercover for the FBI, they’ll never admit it and will do whatever it takes to make him pay for harming one of theirs. And if by some chance Ryder escapes after Sunday, the FBI will turn all its resources loose on him.”

In that case, Munk should bill the FBI for services rendered when he dumped Ryder’s body in a visible area of Atlanta, because Ryder would not slip through Munk’s hands.

“Just remember that final payment is based upon satisfactory performance.”

Regardless of how all this played out, payment
would
still be rendered. If not, Munk’s client wouldn’t like the way he collected bad debts.

CHAPTER 43

Sunrise threatened in the eastern sky as Ryder carried bags from the Walmart in Suwannee to his Mustang. The only time to shop in a supercenter on a Saturday morning was before daylight.

Bianca listened to her iPod through the new headphones he’d gotten her. She’d finally admitted the iPod was customized for short-distance transmissions.

He asked, “Hear anything from Nanci yet?”

“No.” Bianca let out a heavy sigh. “I have to get in touch with Murdock before we leave town.”

“Based on what you told me about your last contact with Nanci, she’ll find you while we’re on the way.”  Dragging that out of Bianca had been tough. Ryder could appreciate that she’d been told not to share anything with him, but Murdock hadn’t known that Ryder could be trusted. Bianca understood the folly in withholding vital information when they had a killer on their trail.

 Maybe he was reading too much into her being quiet when it could be nothing more than exhaustion.

“But if Nanci doesn’t make contact with me, Murdock will send a team to intercept us somewhere.”

Ryder argued, “He wants evidence of the weapons deal too much to do that without checking first to see if the op is still moving forward.”

Bianca glanced away when he mentioned the evidence. That raised a flag of concern again.

She buried whatever thought had brought on her moment of hesitation. “But we’re already at the outer limits of what could be considered northeast Atlanta. I should’ve heard from Nanci by now.”

“We won’t become suspect until we head north of Suwanee. Murdock will think we’re up here to visit the VDE production facility.”

“I hope you’re right, because our game is over the minute the FBI show up.”  Hazel eyes loaded with concern met his. “Everything may change once I tell them I suspect a threat on Sunday.”

“Not until someone figures out who or what is in jeopardy. We don’t even know the time zone yet to pin it down to a country. If Murdock was smart, he’d bring in Sabrina’s team to help find the target.”

“He won’t.”

“Then Murdock had better hope his people find it if you and I don’t.”

“My team can’t know anything yet, but Murdock will alert Homeland Security. That will put more resources on this.”

Ryder loaded the bags into the trunk, keeping his eyes on everything in the parking lot. “That brings up another thought I had.”

“What?”

He opened her door, waiting as she sank into the seat. “Can you download agency files on the case against me?”

She didn’t answer, didn’t even look up at him, just stared straight at the windshield.

Ryder had been hoping for a shot at those files all week, but she was reluctant and he had an idea why. She had to be stressing over constantly graying the lines between helping him and upholding her oath as a FBI agent. “I might see something in the files no one else would notice, but if you’re not—”

“Sure, I can get my hands on the files.”  She raised her hand when he started to say more. “I believe in your innocence and once we find the truth I’ll have all I need to deal with Murdock.”

Where had this woman been all his life?

He leaned down and kissed her. A gentle kiss to tell her how much she meant to him when he couldn’t say the words yet. Not until he was free. “Thank you.”

She nodded.

Once he had them rolling, he ran through a McDonald’s for breakfast-on-the-go and Bianca had just finished her breakfast burrito when she put her hand on one of her earphones. “Nanci?”

Ryder kept his eyes on the road, trying his best not to appear troubled, but he didn’t feel nearly as confident as he’d sounded when he’d told Bianca that Murdock wouldn’t snatch Ryder out of a knee-jerk reaction. Truth was that Ryder had no idea how Murdock would react, especially if Bianca didn’t convince her boss to allow Ryder to leave the city.

Bianca’s face fell as she listened. “Tell Murdock to give me a chance to explain first.

Nope, that didn’t sound optimistic at all.

Ryder eyed the road for any vehicles approaching at high speed, and cut his gaze to the dark sky for an incoming helicopter.

Murdock would send everyone if he thought Ryder was running.

CHAPTER 44

“Murdock is mobilizing a team to come after Ryder,” Nanci said, sending cold fear washing over Bianca’s exhaustion. “What’s going on or can you talk?”

Bianca saw her future and Ryder’s freedom crashing into a brick wall if Murdock thought Ryder was forcing her to leave town. She tossed a quick glance at Ryder’s hooded expression and pressed the transmitting button on the iPod to order Nanci, “No. I’m traveling voluntarily. We’re on to a lead and it’s big.”  

“What lead and does this mean that Ryder knows you’re talking to me?”

Bianca took another step out on the limb supporting her career. “Yes, Ryder knows I’m talking to you, but things have changed drastically and I can’t work with my hands tied. Tell Murdock that I believe there’s a terrorist attack planned for Sunday.”

Nothing came back from Nanci’s end.

Bianca looked at her iPod, but there was no way to tell if she had a signal or not so she was relieved when Nanci spoke again.

“Where and when is this attack?”

“I only have the when. It’s oh-one-hundred on Sunday, but I don’t have a time zone to know what country the threat will be in so I’m thinking we start with the US.”

“Okay, what do you want me to tell Murdock about what you’re doing today?”

“I’ve copied files I need to go through with Ryder, but we can’t do it around the VDE offices or at his family’s home without the risk of someone catching us. Ask Murdock to give us today and tonight. If we figure out who or what is the target for Sunday, I’ll call Murdock immediately, but I could use another set of eyes on this. Since we can’t let the research department in on what we’re doing, I’ll give you the password for the vault that has all the files.”  

As soon as Bianca repeated the password, Nanci said. “Got it. I can be home where I can work on my computer in an hour if Murdock doesn’t have different plans for me. Where are you headed?”

Bianca didn’t want to admit she had no clue and went with what Ryder had told her. “A cabin in the Rabun Gap area.”

“The transmitter in your iPod is not very powerful, because of the size needed to hide it. Murdock has a unit like mine, but if you’re more than a few hundred yards away, no one will be able to hear you.”

“Hold on.”  Bianca turned to Ryder. “How close can the agency people get to the cabin without tipping someone off?”

“Anything closer than a mile is careless. Further away is better.”

Oh boy. She told Nanci what Ryder had said.

Nanci came back with, “I’ll inform Murdock. He won’t be happy, but we can’t risk blowing your covers by getting too close.”

“He’s got to trust me and give me room to do my job.”

“Agreed.”

“Besides, we’ll be safer than we were in Atlanta where Kearn’s people might get to us again.”  Bianca watched for a sign from Ryder that she’d used a solid argument, but he wouldn’t look at her.

“That’s another thing, Bianca. Murdock doesn’t believe Kearn’s boys were behind the kidnapping.”

“What do you mean?”

“Murdock has had someone inside Kearn Industries since J. K. was killed. The FBI plant was looking for evidence to convict Ryder.”

Oh, God, please tell me they don’t have more evidence against him.
“And?”

“The agent on the inside has done better than expected. She’s gotten close to one of the brothers and found out that J. K.
acquired
VDE weapons plans.”

Bianca’s did not let on that she already knew this, but it was hard to hide her gut clench over the FBI
now
also knowing. She put on her agent face, hoping it would show in her voice, to show an interest in this new information. “Acquired how?”

“Our FBI plant believes Kearn had someone steal the plans that VDE has in development for a smaller ground-to-air missile launcher a month before he was killed. That only improves the case against Ryder.”

Bianca agreed, but only as a matter of logic. Her heart would never accept that he did it. “Anything else?”

“Murdock is sure Kearn’s people didn’t kidnap you two.”

“How can he be so sure?”

“Because the agent inside Kearn Industries told him the Kearn brothers got into a big argument this week when the oldest one suggested catching Ryder and taking him somewhere they could get answers. The two younger ones convinced him that Ryder was too dangerous to tangle with and that they would not let up on the FBI until someone was brought to justice. The older brother finally conceded it was a stupid idea and our agent has been screening all communications at Kearn Industries. She found nothing about a kidnapping.”