The Puppeteer (3 page)

“So that's the deal, gentlemen.” Dani snapped off the projector and faced the men. “To make a long story short, we believe Ramon Getz will be trading a number of weapons and questionable equipment to the Eagle's Wing Militia in exchange for a large shipment of high-grade cocaine. With your help, we hope to stop the transfer and apprehend the men involved from both parties,” she hoped she sounded convincing. “We will, of course, coordinate the details with your liaison,” she tossed the file back in her briefcase and snapped it shut to signal she was done.

She'd done her part and briefed the department; not everyone in the room needed to know all the details. “Do you know where the militia is getting the drugs?” Ty asked, not letting the meeting end yet. “It's not their usual stock in trade.”

“We have a couple of leads—we're working on it,” Dani answered. Too fast, she noted with a reminder to watch her step with Ty. His eyes narrowed a fraction and he opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off.

“That's all I have today, gentlemen.” Dani didn't want to give him time to ask the likely follow up question: ‘Where are the weapons from?’

She turned, “Who would you like us to liaise with, Captain?”

“Fuller,” he answered, with no hesitation.

Of course.

“Great,” she said, forcing a smile and turning toward Ty. He watched her with a subtle and very personal look.
Good lord, the man was attractive
. The thought flew into her head before she had the presence of mind to stop it. And she wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing that she now knew he was smart and, judging by the way his teammates reacted to him, capable.

“I have a few things to take care of at my hotel,” she said, grabbing her bag. “Can you meet me there in forty-five minutes? We can head to the house where we're set up and I'll introduce you to the rest of my team.”

For one heart-stopping moment she thought he might say something about just where they could meet, but then he took a step away and nodded. “What hotel?”

She told him, though he already knew from their brief—very brief—discussion about where to go when they'd left the bar the night before.

“I'll meet you there.”

And to her relief, he turned and left the room with the rest of his team.

Chapter 3

TY GLANCED UP FROM HIS DESK
and, as casually as he could, let his gaze follow Agent Williamson as she exited the building. Instinct and experience told him there was more to what she and her team where doing in Portland than she let on. That alone wasn't surprising—most agencies held information back. But what did surprise him was that it was more than a healthy dose of skepticism that made him think that. It was something about Dani herself.

He would be the first to admit he didn't know her well. Yes, they'd spent an intense night together, but it had been more physical than anything else. There was no reason he should feel like he knew her on a deeper level. But when her intelligent gaze had met and held his in the conference room, the feeling that he
knew
her settled in his gut. And, in turn, he knew there was a reason she was here other than Getz or Eagle's Wing. As if that wasn't enough.

“You'll have a hell of a job dealing with her, if you know what I mean.” Marty Warren said from the opposite desk.

Ty swiveled toward his partner.

“She's a hell of a looker, Ty, but she's got that look to her.”

Knowing his partner well, Ty waited for him to continue. Marty, like the stereotypical cop he liked to portray, obliged. “She's got that look that says if you so much as think of thinking about her as just a pretty blonde, she'll nail your balls to the wall so fast you won't have any idea what hit you.”

Ty laughed out loud at this assessment. He had first-hand knowledge of how physical Dani could be. And, after witnessing her
iron-clad control during the briefing, he had no doubt his partner's characterization was spot on.

“I guess I'll have to be careful what I focus on,” Ty responded.

“Yeah, like that's gonna be easy,” Marty rolled his eyes. “You'd have to be dead not to notice she's built for sinnin',” he added, thickening his usually toned-down southern accent. “I'm an old fart and even I can see it.”

“You're fifty-two, Marty. I know your still sinnin' away with the best of them.”

“Tryin' anyway,” Marty grinned and winked.

“And besides, I didn't say I wouldn't notice, I said I wouldn't focus,” Ty conceded.

“So you think it's how she says?” Marty's accent lightened up again. “You think Getz is that big a dog? Kinda gets your goat knowing he's been right under our noses the whole time,” he thought out loud.

“We've known about Getz for a long time,” Ty reminded him. “Hell, I even knew of him when I was here in high school. We just haven't been able to get anything on him and haven't had the resources to pursue anything.”

“And now we got us a whole team of grade-A DEA agents.”

“Yep, that we do,” Ty responded, with the same level of enthusiasm.

“Good luck with that,” Marty said, swinging his feet off his desk and rising. “That filly is going to be a firecracker. Let me know if you need help handling her.” He winked again and cast Ty a lascivious grin. “Of course, a young buck like you might be just what she's looking for.”

“I think all she's ‘looking for’ is a way to bring Getz down,” Ty said, despite his own belief otherwise. But he was speaking to empty air; Marty had already disappeared. No doubt to prepare for his favorite activity: interviewing trainees. Or, as Marty liked to refer to it, ‘scarin'-the-shit-out-of-young-people-who-should-know-better-than-to-want-to-work-vice.’

*   *   *

Dani came to a stop a few buildings down from the police headquarters. She took a moment to let the tension drain from her body. A woman paused at the curb beside her with a woolly, goofy-looking St. Bernard in tow. Dani smiled and gave the dog a good rub. He drooled in appreciation. She watched them cross the street as she reflected on the meeting. For the most part, it had gone well. And aside from seeing Ty again later, which was something she decided not to think about for a few minutes, she was now free to focus on her job. On this case.

Pulling out her cell, she speed-dialed a number. “Marmie, it's Dani.” She stopped at a light and waited for it to turn green.

“Mack!” Marmie said, referring to Dani by her handle “Are you headed out now?”

“Yes, just finished the meeting with Portland vice. I'm walking back to the hotel and will be out to the house in about an hour.” The light changed and she proceeded across the street.

“How did it go?”

“Fine. Seems like a good group. They seem fine with us.”

“And our liaison? Will he be easy?” Easy to manage, easy to manipulate, was the translation.

‘Easy’ was not a word she would use to describe Ty Fuller. Even though she didn't know him that well, words like ‘smart,’ ‘capable,’ and ‘confident’ came to mind. ‘Easy’ did not. She got the sense they would be able to manipulate him only if he let them. Whether or not he would let them remained to be seen. “You ever meet an easy SEAL?”

“Not intellectually.” Marmie's smile shined through in the comment and Dani laughed. Marmie was their sifter; she dug and scraped and gathered information for the team, sifted through it all, and then gave the agents what they needed. She would develop her own intel on Ty, but Dani wasn't surprised she'd asked.

“Be that as it may, he won't be as easy as we would have liked.” Dani commented, visualizing his focused look and remembering the intelligence that radiated from him. She glanced around the street, noting the few people nearby as she proceeded past several shops. “We might be able to use him. He's sharp, he might be an asset.”

There was long, silent pause on the other side of the line. “That would be Drew's call,” Marmie answered, giving no indication of her own opinion.

“Yeah,” Dani agreed. “Unfortunately, we might not have a choice.”

She sighed. She had a sinking sensation Ty was not the type to smile and nod at the half-truths and non-information they would give him.

He'd figure it out—or rather he would figure out something else was going on. If they could trust him, they could let him into the full scope of the investigation and he could be an asset. If not, he could prove to be a real liability. But either way, Marmie was right. As team leader, it was Drew's call.

“Anything new?” Dani asked, changing the subject as she waited at another light.

“A couple of interesting items have popped up. We can go over them when you get here, nothing to make or break us. Drew's on his way here. He called and said he was getting on a plane.”

Which meant he would get to Portland any time between three hours and three days. No one ever knew where the director was at any given time, unless he was standing right next to them.

“Sounds good,” Dani said. “I'll be in soon. Anything you want from the real world?” she asked as she pushed through the hotel doors.

“No, we're good. Your sister, bless her, had a huge basket of goodies waiting for us when we arrived yesterday. Thank god, too, because all Spanky bought was a box of mini donuts. I'll eat them, but only when I'm desperate.”

Dani smiled into the phone as the two hung up. Her sister was good like that. She didn't know the team, other than Drew, and didn't have a clue what they did, but they were her guests and she would damn well treat them that way.

She headed up to her room, ignoring the memories of the night before that played on the edges of her mind. She had thirty minutes to pack and get ready before Ty showed up. She needed focus.

Twenty minutes later there was a knock on her door. She opened it, leaned against the frame, and regarded the man in front of her.

Chapter 4

“I'M EARLY,” TY OFFERED.
An unrepentant smile played on his lips.

Dani eyed him for a long moment before deciding to let him in. She stepped away and turned back to the room. As she placed her duffel bag on the bed and gathered up the last of her belongings, she heard him enter and close the door.

“So, how'd you get the name Ella?” he asked. The lock on the door clicked into place. Her eyes flickered toward him as he leaned against the wall.

“Danielle Gabriella Williamson.” Turning her back to him, she grabbed a pair of shoes—the very same pair she'd worn to the bar. She didn't look at him as she tossed them into the bag, but she could feel his gaze follow their trajectory as they landed atop the sage green top he'd peeled off of her less than twenty-four hours ago.

Dani reached for a sweater she'd brought and shoved it into the bag, pushing down both the shoes and the shirt. Without a word, she zipped the bag and then reached for her gun and holster which were lying on the side table. She strapped on the holster and removed the gun.

“So,” Ty said from across the room. “How long are you going to ignore what happened last night?”

Once again, she let her eyes flicker to his. His tone was a mixture of curiosity and good-humored mockery. She held her gun up and checked the clip. It wasn't pointed anywhere near him, and the safety was on, but she hoped he got the message.

“Forever?” he prompted.

“Pretty much,” she replied. The crispness in her voice was punctuated by the sound of the clip snapping into place. To her surprise, he said nothing. She slid the gun back into her holster and pulled a zip-up sweatshirt over the t-shirt she'd changed into. She didn't so much need the warmth, but it hid her weapon. Closing her case and grabbing her duffel, she gave him another measured look. And reminded herself that he didn't create the situation any more or less than she did. But she did need to be clear that, from here on out, they were professional associates only. Nothing more. This was the first time she had ever had to deal with this kind of situation and now, on this case, well, the fates really were a bitch.

She allowed herself a smile as she walked toward him. “Although you have to admit it is rather ironic, don't you think?”

He raised a brow in question.

“My guess is that you were out last night looking to release a little tension after hearing the feds were coming to town,” she stopped in front of him and searched his eyes. He didn't bother to answer, so she continued. “I was looking to do the same. The fates must have been laughing when they threw us together.” She meant to close the door on the conversation, but standing there, looking into his eyes, for a moment she slipped back to a few hours earlier. The same eyes that had held hers as they lay tangled in his sheets, catching their breath, held hers now.

The tension in the room was so thick Dani had to remind herself to breathe and, in an instant, it wasn't funny anymore. Her pulse kicked up, but it wasn't out of desire. She'd been in enough situations to recognize her own reaction to fear. Why she was afraid, she didn't know. But now was not the time or place to sort it out. She pushed past him, breaking the contact.

“Ready?” she asked moving toward the door.

“For everything,” he replied.

*   *   *

He should be more pissed, Ty thought as he followed Dani out of the hotel. He
had
been irritated less than an hour ago. Her willingness and ability to ignore what had been a pretty incredible night should put a damper on his ego. But somehow it didn't. Or maybe it did, but the feeling was replaced by an altogether different feeling when he watched her check and handle her gun. He must be sick in the head. There was something just plain wrong with being turned on by watching a woman handle a gun. Then again, confidence was always seductive. And Dani was nothing if not confident.