Compromised Identity. Jodie Bailey
it. The last thing you need is to put someone else in danger because they’re at your house when the bad guys show up. I can’t let you do that.”
Her mouth closed, and she at least appeared to be considering his words. Denial could be stronger than common sense sometimes. In Jessica’s case, it seemed she carried a pretty hefty dose.
Unfortunately, Sean knew what a superhero complex coupled with denial could get you. A space in the hot seat staring a terrorist square in the eye. He’d rightly earned that seat by ignoring the signs that had led to his own kidnapping. He wasn’t going to let Jessica do the same, not if he could save her.
Rather than reach for her arm and get rebuffed, Sean swept his hand toward his rental car. “I’d feel a whole lot better if you weren’t standing in the open right now.”
He expected her to argue, but she fell into step beside him and crossed the remaining thirty yards to his vehicle. Just a short distance from the vehicle, she stopped. “I know that guy from somewhere.”
Sean looked around but saw no one in the parking lot. “Which guy?”
“The one in my car.”
“Wait.” Sean stopped, pinning his hands to her shoulders so she’d look at him and not away as she had a habit of doing when she was cornered. “You know him?”
“I don’t know his name, but he was in the ID card facility earlier when I was there and I wish...” She shook her head and balled her fists again, which seemed to be her trademark move when she was frustrated.
Or scared.
Sean watched her eyes as she talked. This had her spooked more than she would ever let on. Jessica Dylan did not have everything as held together as she tried to make it appear, but with her driven need to prove herself, she’d never give him the satisfaction of seeing her crumble.
Fighting the totally inexplicable urge to draw her close, an urge brought on by her unexpected vulnerability, Sean dropped his hands and took a step back. “You wish what?”
“Nothing. Just that I could figure out where I’ve seen him before today.”
“So this isn’t the first time you’ve encountered this guy?” If the man had been following her before the incident yesterday, it was for certain this operation was much bigger and Jessica wasn’t a random target. “Think. Where?”
“I don’t know. That’s what’s bugging me. I’ve seen him, but my mind won’t place him. I’ve run through everywhere I’ve been for the past week and can’t picture him in any of those places.”
“Describe him. Tell me everything about when you spotted him inside, anything you remember about him, no matter how insignificant. His appearance, what he was doing, everything.” Before Sean took one more step, he needed to know what he was up against. Even though he’d had a brief glimpse of the suspect, he wanted to hear her details, see if having her talk would trigger another memory.
“Not very tall. My height maybe. Light brown hair. Tanned skin. He looked like...” She pulled in a gasp, reaching for Sean, eyes widening with something close to excitement. “He’s on the cell phone.”
“What?”
“His photo was in Channing’s email. That’s why he seemed familiar. I’m sure of it. It’s one of the first emails, one of the oldest.” She grabbed his wrist, animated once again. “If you can let me see the backup you made of that phone before they deleted the emails, I’ll recognize him.”
She’d recognize the man, but would it do them any good? Each attack came closer to stealing Jessica and, if the pattern continued, when it happened again, he might not be able to reach her in time.
“Something else is going on here.” Sean dragged a hand down his face and glanced at the clock in his rental car as he sat in Jessica’s driveway talking to his team leader. It was just past six in the evening, and he was already flagging. If he didn’t get sleep soon, there was no telling how much longer he’d be able to run on fumes. It hadn’t been that long ago when he could make it through a forty-eight-hour stretch without batting an eye, but those days were gone after the events of last spring made him feel a whole lot older than his thirty years and made sleep harder to come by.
He grimaced. Stupid nightmares were not going to keep him from what he wanted out of life. He’d beat them the same way he’d beaten every other challenge. With stubborn willpower.
Willpower that wasn’t keeping his emotions out of this thing with Jessica Dylan. She was getting into his head already, and that was definitely not something he was used to. Needing some time to adjust to her presence, he’d cleared the house and let her go in for some time to herself while he made the call to headquarters.
“Tell me what you’ve got.” A clatter punctuated Captain Ethan Kincaid’s words. He was either on speaker or headphones. Likely headphones. The man never stopped moving even to have a conversation.
“The guy who came after her yesterday... He was more intent on silencing her than saving his hide.”
“You’re sure?”
“I know the look.” A loud bang cracked on the line, and Sean grimaced, pulling the phone away from his ear. “What are you doing?”
The silence grew long and loud before Ethan finally cleared his throat. “Dishes.”
Sean coughed to cover a laugh, then gave up and let the grin sound in his voice. “The one-man destroyer of terror cells is doing dishes?”
“Knock it off, Turner.” Even Ethan sounded amused. “That terror cell wouldn’t have come down without you and Ashley. And you deserve more of the credit than the rest of us.”
Sean frowned. Last year at this time, he’d been in Afghanistan, gathering intelligence on a terror cell led by an American contractor, Sam Mina. Things had gone south quickly in the spring, and Sean’s best friend, Ashley Colson, ended up in the crosshairs because of his decision to pull her into the mission. It was a choice that nearly got them both killed.
“I know what you’re thinking. Stop beating yourself up.” All amusement vanished from Ethan’s voice. “Mina’s in jail. The cell he led has fallen apart. You’re safe. And believe me, Ashley is more than fine.” Ethan should know. He’d married her two months ago.
Sean cleared his throat, shoving the conversation aside. He didn’t want to talk about the past. All he had was the future, and even it was on a shaky foundation. “Ashley’s more than fine because she talked you into doing housework. Tell me again why you’re doing the dishes, Kincaid?”
For a minute, it seemed Ethan wasn’t going to take the bait, but he finally spoke. “She’s all spun up because my parents will be here for Thanksgiving, and she spent the entire day making pies. Oh, and that was after she ferreted out a hacker in Turkey. You know. Typical Ashley day.”
There was nothing typical about Ethan’s wife. Sean could testify to that. He had known her his whole life. Sean might count himself a master at data encryption, but when it came to everything else about computers, Ashley Colson Kincaid beat him without even having to fight.
“Speaking of her hacker tracking ability, I need her to remote in to Staff Sergeant Dylan’s desktop computer. If she saw Channing downloading data, I want to know what it was. If Ashley and I sift through it together, we have a better chance of finding something.”
“Done. Just be careful not to tip your hand to the mission. If we’re right and this is a terror cell, we don’t know who’s involved. Get with Ashley and set up a time. Think you need me to put a team together for you and send them out there?”
For a half second, Sean considered the offer, but he rejected it. Having only recently been cleared for full duty after his