Mercenary Trilogy - Willing Part 20

She liked Daniel's idea better, that everyone else leave and she and Daniel get some time alone, but didn't think they'd get away with it. "What if someone tries to break in again?""Already taken care of." Hotwire held up an independent motion detector device. "If it detects motion, it releases an odorless sleeping agent while alerting the remote unit of the compromised perimeter."

"That could be dangerous around pets." Claire was looking at the small device in Hotwire's hand withdistinct wariness."You and Josie don't have any pets.""True, but how sensitive is it? I mean, if I stay in my room, will it go off? What if I have to go to the bathroom?"

Hotwire looked bemused, and it was such an interesting, not to mention uncommon, expression on hisface that Josie had to stifle a laugh."We're not going to have the units armed when you're home, Claire," he said."Oh." She didn't look appreciably relieved. "Okay." She turned to leave the room."Where are you going?" Hotwire's Georgian charm was obvious by its absence, but he didn't sound angry, just confused.

Claire looked back over her shoulder, her eyes saying she couldn't quite figure out why he was askingthat. "To get a snack and then I'm going to study. Did you need something?""You're going to dinner with us.""No, I'm not.""Why do you think you aren't going?""I wasn't invited, and even if I had been, I've got studying to do.""Your studying can wait until you've eaten. You admitted in the car you'd had nothing since your almost nonexistent breakfast this morning."Hotwire had quizzed Claire on what she'd eaten that day?"Don't worry about me. I'm used to skipping a meal or two when I need to.""Your brain can't function at optimum potential when you don't feed your body the fuel it needs."Claire was still looking as though she didn't understand why Hotwire was asking her about something that had nothing to do with him. Josie was almost as bemused as Claire. Hotwire was all southern charm with women. Only he always kept a certain distance, but he was ignoring his self-imposed boundaries with Claire. From the look on Claire's face, he was ignoring hers, too.

"If you stay, the reporters will think there's still a chance of getting something worth printing and stickaround," Daniel said.The look of grat.i.tude Hotwire sent him shocked Josie so much she didn't think to add her voice to Daniel 's in convincing Claire to come to dinner.But the other woman's face creased in a worried frown. "I hadn't thought about the reporters.""But you did think about the bad guys coming back, didn't you?" Hotwire asked, almost as an accusation."Well, yes..."Hotwire sighed. "Claire, I wouldn't leave you to face people who have already tried to kill once.""You wouldn't?" she asked, her emphasis on you echoed in Josie's mind."None of us would," Daniel inserted before Hotwire had a chance to answer."Right," Josie finally had the wherewithal to say. "You need to come with us, honey."Claire didn't need much convincing after that, but she did politely decline Hotwire's offer to help her with her studies. Josie wondered if Claire wasn't going to wind up with Hotwire in her room going over program code, all the while not sure how he'd gotten there.

Josie told the others over dinner about the leads she'd uncovered on her dad's possible whereabouts. Both Hotwire and Daniel thought she was on to something, and Claire made a couple of suggestions on avenues Josie hadn't thought to research.

The motion sensor units did not go off during dinner, and the discussion progressed from Josie's dad's possible whereabouts to what to do if he really was in Nevada.

When they got back to the house, the front lawn was empty, as was the sidewalk, and no suspect cars or vans were parked along the street. Josie's relief was short-lived when a sedan pulled up just as they were getting out of Daniel's SUV.

A man jumped out of the pa.s.senger door, and a second later a powerful camera flash went off.

"Miss McCall, would you care to comment on the rumor that ELF was behind the explosion at your father's compound two nights ago."

She spun around at the sound of the reporter's strident voice. He was standing on the sidewalk, but that didn't keep his photographer from snapping more pictures of her and the others.

She marched up to the two men. "Just where exactly did you hear this rumor?" she demanded.

"Are you saying it's not true?" the reporter asked while the photographer took yet another picture.

She grabbed his wrist with a snakelike movement her father had taught her when she was fifteen. Pressing with two fingers on a vulnerable spot, she watched in satisfaction as the man lost his hold on the camera and it fell with a clunk to the pavement. She released him, and he scrambled backward, kicking his camera as he did so and causing further damage to the expensive piece of equipment.

"You should be more careful with your things," she said sweetly.

"You did that. You broke my wrist, you b.i.t.c.h." He was holding it cradled limply against his chest, but she knew feeling would return in less than a minute.

"No. I didn't."

"But if you call her another name, I will," Daniel said from beside her. "Pick up your camera and getback in the car.""Hey, you can't tell me what to do. This is public property."Daniel took a step toward the photographer. "Yes. It is. Which means I can stay out here as long as I want.""You can't do anything to me. I'll call the cops."Daniel's smile was chilling. "How long do you think it would take them to get here?""Are you threatening me?""No. A soldier learns early not to waste time or words warning his enemy of his intentions."The photographer's nerve broke, and he grabbed his camera before heading back across the street to his car. "Come on, Dooley, it's not worth it. This story is old news already anyway.""Stop being such a wuss," Dooley said.The other man made a crude, but dismissive gesture with his hand and got back in the car."I told you, I have no comment, and that isn't going to change." Josie turned to go."There's something going on here, Miss McCall, and I'm going to figure out what it is.""Be my guest," she said over her shoulder. "When you do, make sure you share your findings with the Forest Service."

"I find it very interesting that Daniel Black Eagle, the son of a known felon, buys in to an exclusive paramilitary training school and pretty soon that same school is blown to smithereens and burned to the ground."

Chapter 14.

S he barely stifled the urge to tell the reporter where to stuff it, knowing he wanted her to lose her cool.

"Even more interesting, the man is currently shacked up with his partner's daughter, and they are both explosives experts."

"What the h.e.l.l are you getting at?" Daniel's voice was deadly, but not out of control.

She looked over at him, continuing toward the house. "Ignore him, Daniel. He's blowing smoke out of his behind, and pretty soon he's going to set himself on fire."

"Like you set fire to your father's compound? Is it true your father died in the fire, Ms. McCall? Do you think he died from smoke inhalation before the fire got to him? It puts a different complexion on the recent million-dollar life insurance policy your dad took out naming you as beneficiary, doesn't it?"

Two thumps sounded from behind her, and she spun around to see what was going on. Daniel was walking toward her, and the reporter lay unmoving, half on the sidewalk and half on the street.

"Daniel, what did you do?""He tripped. Over my foot."She stared at the reporter and then looked toward the car where the photographer was busy trying to fix his camera under the interior lights. From his lack of reaction, she had to a.s.sume he hadn't seen anything.He certainly hadn't gotten any pictures, not with his camera out of commission."You can't leave him lying half in the street.""He accused you of killing your dad. He's lucky I didn't throw him in front of the next pa.s.sing car."The reporter groaned and started moving.

Daniel nodded toward him. "See. He'll be fine. Unfortunately.""He knew an awful lot about you and me for that matter. Not to mention some insurance policy I'm darnpositive my dad would never have taken out. He doesn't trust insurance companies."

"I know. I wouldn't buy in to the school until he agreed to insure the property.""Why didn't Dooley mention that policy?" she asked as they walked into the house, and Daniel closed the door behind them. "It would support his whacky accusation you had something to do with the school's demise."Hotwire and Claire were nowhere to be seen, but she could hear typing from the study, and Claire's bedroom door was shut."I don't know." Daniel pulled her around so she was looking up into his face. "Are you okay?""Other than knowing someone tried to kill my dad and apparently planned all along to lay the blame on me? Sure." She smiled to make a joke of her words, but it slipped at the seriousness of his expression."I don't like this one dam-darn bit. I don't think you're safe, Josette.""I'm not a helpless little bubblehead, Daniel. If anybody comes after me, I'm more than ready to give them a taste of the temper I've been keeping under wraps for the past three days." And she meant it.

She would welcome a chance to meet her enemy face-to-face and take them apart with every trick her dad had taught her.

"They didn't meet your dad head-on. They tried to blow him up. If you hadn't been there, he would be

dead."

"If I hadn't been there, the security system would have been set at a higher level for motion detectionoutside his room. I turned it off when I went for a walk.""If they came prepared to blow up the compound, they came prepared to dismantle your dad's security features.""I told myself the same thing, but that doesn't change the fact they didn't have to.""And that doesn't alter the fact you saved your dad's life.""Maybe you're right." Heaven knew she didn't believe in carrying false guilt around. Daniel had enough of that for both of them.

She moved into his arms until she was wrapped up against him, seeking his strength and warmth. "I know

it's stupid, but, Daniel, I always thought he was indestructible. It never occurred to me that anybodycould kill him. I guess I thought he was never going to die."Burying her face against his chest, she couldn't say anything more past the lump of emotional revelation clogging her throat.His hand rubbed up and down her back. "I know, sweetheart. There's nothing stupid about it. I used tothink that my mom couldn't die either. I mean, she'd survived years of marriage to my dad; I couldn't conceive of him seriously hurting her. He needed her. Even I could see that, though I wouldn't call whathe felt love.""I'm sorry she died.""I am, too, but I'm not going to make the mistake with you that I made with her."She pulled back so she could see his face. There had been an odd quality in his voice. "What do you mean?""You're in danger right now.""So?""I want you to go stay with Wolf and Lise until the enemy is contained.""No.""I'm not giving you a choice, Josette.""Really? How do you plan to get me to Wolf's? Carry me there with my arms tied behind my back?""If I had picked my mother up and carried her out of the house, she wouldn't have been there for my dad to throw against a wall."

"She would have gone back to him, just like I'm going to Nevada to see if my dad is there, even if I have

to walk down the side of Wolf's mountain and hitchhike cross-country. If you really want to make sure I'm safe, you're going to have to keep me with you.""Josette-""Think about it, Daniel. I'm trained to protect myself and to neutralize the enemy. Please trust me to make the right decisions for my own safety.""Do I have a choice?""No. You didn't have one with your mother either," she couldn't help saying.He sighed, but didn't argue with her. No anger evident in his eyes at her mutiny, he brushed the hair away from her temple. "You're so perfect, such a special woman. I don't want you hurt."Tears unrelated to her dad's dangerous brush with death filled her eyes. "I'm a former mercenary,Daniel, not a debutante."

"You're my woman." He nuzzled her face. "And so soft."

Her mind splintered away from their discussion as his gentle touch drew forth a reaction from her body that had nothing to do with making war. She turned her face toward his and met his lips halfway. She opened her mouth, and their tongues collided in a mutual need to taste. Her hands slid of their own accord up his chest and around his neck as her body pressed into the hard length of his. His arms were already locked around her, but they tightened until she felt melded to him despite the clothes separating flesh hungry to touch naked flesh.

"This is becoming a habit." The humor in Hotwire's voice couldn't even dampen the need Josie felt to connect with Daniel.

She ignored the other man's presence and went up on her tiptoes to increase the pressure of her lips against his.

It was Daniel who drew away, holding her firmly separated from him when she tried to burrow back into

his arms. He turned his head toward Hotwire. "This had better be good.""I chased down the leads Josie uncovered and followed up on the suggestions Claire made at dinner.Someone is definitely using the deceased veteran's name to live under."

"Where?" Josie asked."You were right...Nevada. In a spa.r.s.ely populated area south of Reno.""That sounds like Dad.""I made plane reservations for tomorrow, but we've got to do something about Claire. She needs to stay somewhere else for the duration."

"You're leaving tomorrow?" Claire came into the room and pushed her gla.s.ses up on her nose, lookingat Josie with that vague look she got when she was concentrating on a new program."We think my dad's in Nevada. We have to check it out.""And you need to stay somewhere else for a while," Hotwire added."Why?""The house has been compromised. You won't be safe staying here alone," Josie replied. "Will that be all right?"

Claire bit her lip and didn't meet Josie's eyes, but she nodded. "Sure. I'll get packed tonight and leave inthe morning.""Where are you going to stay?" Josie asked."Don't worry about it. There are plenty of places I can go."Josie didn't like the vague answer. "Are you sure? You haven't had anyone over since you moved in, and the only time you go out is to visit the old people in the nursing home where you work, or volunteerat the shelters downtown. I don't want you staying in one of them while we're gone.""That's not going to happen," Hotwire said, sounding meaner than Josie had ever heard him.

"We can rent her a hotel suite," Daniel suggested.

"No, thank you." Claire smiled at Josie. "That won't be necessary, believe me. I'll stay at the nursing home. They've got several empty beds right now, and the staff likes me."

She sounded surprised by the fact, but Josie wasn't. Claire was an angel to the old people, and the staff all loved her for it.

"You're going to live in a nursing home?" Hotwire demanded, not sounding appreciably more pleased by that idea than Claire sleeping in a shelter.

"I've stayed in worse places. Much worse if you want the truth. Staying with Essie or one of the other old ladies won't be a problem for me at all, and as long as you don't mind me borrowing your computer for a while longer, I can keep up with my cla.s.ses."

"That's not a problem." He looked at Josie. "What about your cla.s.ses?"

"I'm not carrying a full course load this summer like Claire is. I'll catch up later, and if I can't, finding my dad is more important than pa.s.sing a couple of computer cla.s.ses, but Claire shouldn't have to make that choice. None of this is her problem."

"Standing by my friends is not a problem," Claire said, her voice firm with purpose.

Hotwire insisted on seeing Claire settled into her new accommodations before informing Josie and Daniel he'd booked flights for only the two of them. "Someone should stay here in case the bad guys come back and try to break in again. Besides, I can use the time to investigate those fanatics in the Rockies that have possession of your laptop."

"You sure you can handle it?" Daniel asked."On my worst day.""Then why did you make Claire leave?" Josie asked."She could be at risk if they did come back, and she'd be a distraction even if they didn't.""I thought there was something going on there."Hotwire frowned. "Nothing's going on.""But you want her," Daniel said bluntly."Yes. I'm not going to have her, though. Did you know she's a pacifist and a vegetarian?" Hotwire asked, sounding as if he didn't know what to make of either of those facts."She's also a crack programmer and has design skills that are going to outs.h.i.+ne Andy Grove's one day."Hotwire just shook his head.

The pale yellow stucco house was listed as belonging to Andrew Taylor, but Daniel didn't doubt the dusty jeep in the driveway was registered to Tyler McCall.

"That's Dad's jeep," Josie confirmed as Daniel parked their rental car behind it and cut off the engine.

The Oregon license plate had been carefully smudged with dirt so as to be unreadable, but this close the distinctive image of Mt. Hood between the letters could be made out.

Hot, still air hit him, the minute Daniel opened his car door, compromising the air-conditioned interior.

Nevada was no hotter than a lot of places he'd been, but its desert sun was strong and bright,

s.h.i.+mmering on the sand like liquid air.

Josie came around the car, and they went together to the front door. There was no answer to their first knock, or their second.

She pushed the doorbell, and a muted chime sounded through the thick wooden door.

"Dad, it's me! Open up." At the continued lack of response, her brows knit in a frown. "Either he's nothere, or he's pretending not to be."With Tyler, either was possible. "Let's take a look around back.""Watch for electronic eyes. Dad isn't going to have a safe house without some heavy-duty security features, and I don't want to deal with triggering one of his traps."

Daniel agreed and tread carefully as they made their way around to the back of the house. He almost

missed the first eye hidden behind a scrub bush against one wall, but spotted the second soon after. Heavoided them both. The back patio's weathered brick was devoid of outdoor furniture or any sign of life.Josie made a sound of disgust as she looked around. "Well, that netted us nothing."The sliding gla.s.s door to the interior was covered with a privacy curtain so they couldn't see into the house, and all the back windows had interior shutters, which were closed.

"We'll have to go inside," Daniel said, eyeing the subtle signs of Tyler's security system.

It took almost thirty minutes to disable it and break into the house. When they did, the spa.r.s.ely furnished

southwestern-style home was empty."Where could he have gone without the jeep? This house isn't exactly on a bus line.""Maybe we should be asking who he went with."Josie's features tightened. "Or more importantly, did he go of his own accord?""There's no reason to believe he didn't. There are no signs of a struggle, and we only discovered this place because you'd read the journals. What are the chances his enemies know about it, too?"She smiled briefly. "Knowing my dad's penchant for privacy, very small, but where the heck is he?"Daniel didn't bother answering the rhetorical question, but started searching through drawers in the kitchen. Josie joined him and when their search revealed nothing useful, they moved to the other rooms,looking in every conceivable place for an indication Tyler had even been there.There was nothing. He'd made a clean sweep of the place before leaving.Josie picked up the phone. "I'm going to try redial. It's the last thing I can think of."

"Good idea."

She pressed the b.u.t.ton and listened. Her soft green eyes lit with satisfaction as the phone was picked up at the other end.

Then she said, "This is Andrew Taylor's secretary. I'm calling to confirm his return ticket to Reno." She

waited, listening to the other person speaking. "No return ticket? But I'm supposed to pick him up at theairport. Perhaps you can find his ticket under his card number." She read off a credit card numberHotwire had identified as belonging to Andrew Taylor of Nevada. "Hmm...What flights are available forreturn tomorrow?...Yes, I see. Let me call him on his cell and ask which one he'd prefer. Thanks. Oh, isthere any way we can link this ticket to his outbound, or are we going to have to pay one-way fares?...Thanks, that would be great."