Campaign of Desire (CSA Case Files 4) (4 page)

Present Day

L
ach shifted his body and leaned his shoulder against the wall. The smell of coffee permeated the air but he wouldn’t be drinking any of the swill they concocted in their witch’s kettle. The coffee they all enjoyed making here was more of a solid than a liquid. Regardless, the minute this meeting was over he’d be heading out of the office and into the brisk air. His team members were situated around the conference table as Crest started the briefing. There was more than enough room to join them at the heart of the office, but sitting in a social setting for too long always made Lach feel trapped. He’d rather be in the thick of things than endure these gatherings. They could just text his instructions and he’d be more than happy.

“As you already know, we believe Ryland has still not entered the States. At least as far as we know.” Crest preferred to recap vital information before giving them additional intelligence. At the moment, he was summarizing an investigation of the whereabouts of a known assassin who went by one name only. Knowing
how
his superior handled debriefings didn’t mean Lach had to like it. He continued to take in his surroundings, studying his colleagues. The only one who looked tense was Taryn, but that wasn’t unusual these days. “The nurse we have in protective custody is standing by her original statement that the surgery to alter Ryland’s appearance never took place. I’ve initiated several contracts so that we are free to handle the other cases coming in. These are men and women I trust, just as I do you. If Ryland makes a move to enter the country, we’ll know by the numerous traces we have in place on his support network.”

Lach noticed that Taryn’s grip on her mug tightened and her knuckles had gone white. She’d switched back from her herbal teas to that horrible coffee around a month ago. Who could really blame her considering everything that happened? Hell, he’d have laced his with whiskey. No one was complaining that she’d converted beverages, especially Kevin and Ethan. No one could stand the rancid smell of those tea leaves, something akin to a wet dog that had been tagged by a skunk.

Within the last two years, Taryn’s life had been turned upside down. The man that Crest spoke of, Ryland, was an assassin who had originally been hired to kill Jax Christensen’s wife. In a long drawn out hunt, the mission had turned personal when Ryland indicated Taryn was more involved in this case than any of them had ever imagined.

It was long ago that Taryn had found what might be Ryland’s weakness, and that turned out to be a woman by the name of Yvette Capre. Unfortunately the lady in connection with his past had been murdered and it proved to be a dead end—no pun intended. What caused a ripple effect was the fact that Ms. Capre was the spitting image of Taryn, give or take a few inches accompanied by longer hair. Ryland liked to use that bit of info when baiting them, knowing it bothered her and kept the rest of them on edge.

“I’ll have Taryn take over with the explanation of the current information, as it affects her personally.” Crest sat back in his chair and surveyed the group. He looked Lach’s way and what he saw in the man’s eyes said it all. There was about to be a major shift in the investigation of Ryland’s case and none of them were going to like it. “Afterward, I’d like to speak with Lach, Ethan, and Connor in my office.”

Crest’s declaration didn’t surprise nor give Lach pause in any way. It probably had nothing to do with this debriefing. He and Ethan were probably being appointed to a new mission and that was fine by Lach. Too much idle time caused him to be agitated, much like these meetings. Hopefully it was a government contract and they would be sent out of the country. He could use a good field assignment.

“Yvette Capre.” Taryn released her hold on the sturdy mug as she declared the name and pushed her chair back from the table. She had a slight tremor in her hand as she took the pencil from behind her ear and tossed it on the papers in front of her. Other than that specific tell, she gave no indication of her apprehension, her appearance was as it always was. Her short stature was in perfect shape from her daily workout routine, her spikey blonde hair was in place, and her black-rimmed glasses were perched on her nose as she met everyone’s gaze with a bravado he admired. “I’m not going to beat around the bush. Using DNA analysis, it’s been confirmed that we’re related. Closely.”

Lach straightened from the wall as he digested this piece of gouge. This could be explosive unless handled with kid gloves. He glanced over at Ethan, who didn’t seem too taken aback by the news as everyone else. Ethan and Taryn shared a close friendship so it didn’t surprise Lach that his friend already knew.

“It looks as if she may be my sister, but since my father has since passed and my mother claims no knowledge of him siring another child, I have
humit
as proof.” Taryn tilted her head as if daring them to ask if she could remain impartial. Of course she couldn’t, but Lach knew that if he were in her shoes it would take moving heaven and hell to make him step away from a case had it become personal to him. “I’ve started investigating my parents’ past and I
will
find out exactly how Yvette Capre is related to me and by whom. I don’t want this to taint your opinion of me as a team member.”

“Taryn, you’re like a sister to us,” Ethan said, glancing about to get a round of nodded agreements. “There is nothing anyone could tell us about you that would affect how we feel about you.”

“We accepted that you’re a squid.” Kevin lifted up his Vikings mug in salute, making reference to the fact that all of them were former Marines with the exception of Taryn. “We even managed to live through your putrid herbal tea habit. Trust me, if we like you after those god awful things…”

“I know that it’s hard to imagine and even harder to answer, but is it possible that your mother is lying?” Jax asked, squeezing the yellow stress ball that he liked to throw around.

“I agree with you that she might be withholding the truth,” Taryn replied with a sad smile. Her blue eyes showed appreciation for their support and she knew they would help her any way they could in getting to the bottom of this case that continued to haunt all of them. “I promise I will look at everything objectively.”

“We don’t doubt that you’ll do what you have to do, Taryn.” Ethan returned a grin of support. “I’m more worried about what Ryland knows and if somehow his being hired to take out Emily didn’t have a connection with you. Did he know that Emily would reach out to Jax? Did he take the contract because he knew it would all lead to you?”

“All good questions.” Crest leaned forward and laced his fingers together over the papers in front of him. “Which is why Taryn will start at the beginning and Jax will work with her backwards through our case files and contacts. Each have the knowledge that we need, or at least they have access to that data. We’ve been too worried about locating Ryland and not investigating his reasons for targeting CSA, which is what this feels like. The contracts I’ve employed will keep their eyes peeled while we do what we do best.”

“
Semper Gumby
, always flexible.”

The motto was murmured throughout the room causing Taryn to smile. She was the only person in the room that was selected from the Navy and she never let any of them disparage her background. They all joked with each other but at the end of the day, they all supported their country.

“Lach, Connor, and Ethan.” Crest stood, effectively dismissing the meeting. Jax, Kevin and Taryn all remained seated and Lach knew they would exchange ideas on how to proceed with the team’s scrutiny of her past. When Kevin gave him a look that Lach couldn’t decipher, it set his radar off. His friend knew something and whatever it was didn’t bode well. Shit. “My office.”

Ethan was still smiling in his lighthearted manner and it was obvious he had no idea what this side meeting was regarding. Whereas originally Lach was looking forward to getting a new assignment, and one that might even take him out of the country, he had a feeling he was about to get the big green weenie.

When Crest headed to his office with Ethan and Connor in tow, Lach followed behind and reiterated to himself that he owed his superior a lot. It wasn’t that he hadn’t repaid the man back in spades, but Crest had earned his respect. When the hostage rescue in his previous career had been botched and hit the airwaves, Lach’s name had been withheld from the media. If he had to guess, he suspected that even the team members of CSA didn’t know how he’d been involved in that clusterfuck. It wasn’t something he liked to talk about and they were considerate enough not to ask about his past. It was named that for a reason and that’s where he wanted it to stay. Whatever Crest was about to ask, Lach would carry on as if another stone hadn’t been thrown into his pack.

“Have a seat.” Crest walked behind his desk, tossing the folders he’d collected off to the side as the two other men sat in the guest chairs. Lach took his usual section of the wall. The manila files sitting in the middle of Crest’s workspace were picked up and handed to them, Connor holding one over his shoulder for Lach to take. He opened the dossier and felt his chest tighten. With what emotion he couldn’t name. Not wanting to look at
her
picture, he shifted his gaze to Crest. Placing his hand on his blue silk tie, his superior held it in place as he took a seat in his black leather chair. “I’ll make this brief. Stan Louis Dunaway phoned me early this morning and he’s decided to run for President. He wants security details on his daughters. Secret Service won’t pick it up until a hundred and twenty days before the election. That’s a long ways out.”

“This is a really big job, Top,” Connor replied, using the nickname in reference from Crest’s former rank in the Corps. “What happens if Ryland chooses now to show his face?”

“We’ll adapt, improvise, and overcome.” It was apparent that Crest had already made his decision. “Ethan will lead the detail on Kimmie Dunaway while you take the big man himself. Mr. Dunaway asked that Lach see to Phoebe’s since she’s already had dealings with him and will undoubtedly feel more comfortable with someone she knows.”

Lach would have laughed out loud had this situation been even remotely humorous. He could guarantee that Phoebe had no share in choosing him as part of her detail. Her father had made an assumption and one that was very wrong. He and Phoebe hadn’t parted on good terms and he had to wonder how this would all play out. He couldn’t help his thoughts as his mind drifted back to when they’d been in Iraq and had their exchange of words.

“We need to leave now,” Lach said as he adjusted his holster. He looked up to find that Phoebe was buttoning her white shirt and avoiding his gaze. Her blonde hair was tousled from their interlude, but even from across the room he could see the downturn of the lips he’d just spent an hour devouring…among other things. “Our flight is in forty-five minutes.”

Lach freely admitted he wasn’t a man of many words, let alone flowery pillow talk. He said what he meant and meant what he said. It made life easier, although he wasn’t so sure Phoebe would agree right now. Hell, he wasn’t sure why she hadn’t just slapped him across the face when he initiated that first contact. He snatched up his jacket and held it awkwardly in his hands as she continued to get dressed. Lately he rarely had sex with someone out of the lifestyle that he’d come to enjoy and this discomfort was reminding him of why. As for what had just transpired between the sheets, it was mind-blowing and something that had taken even him by surprise.

“Phoebe?”

“I heard you,” Phoebe replied, finally finished tucking in her blouse and then meeting his gaze. She lifted her hand in gesture to the bed. “What was this?”

She was asking him a question that he really didn’t have an answer to. One moment Lach had been sitting in the chair observing her handing over the reins to Timothy and seeing her in a totally different light. He’d admit to judging her too quickly, but that still didn’t mean he understood Phoebe’s incessant motivation to put herself in danger. Regardless that this emotional need that drove her was based on the love of her mother, her behavior was downright perilous to herself and others.

Lach had known everything there was to know about Phoebe before the Africa rescue and what he’d read in her dossier would have had anyone forming the conclusion of an overindulged daughter. From the car she drove to the apartment she resided in, every material item she possessed screamed money. It wasn’t until he’d walked into the hotel room that he’d seen the real Phoebe Dunaway. He’d reacted when she’d turned her body against his and one thing had led to another.

“Lach? Tell me, because I’m not one of those women who plays these kinds of games.”

“I don’t know,” Lach answered honestly, all the while knowing that wouldn’t satisfy her. It wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but he wouldn’t spout lies to get her back into his bed. “It was what it was.”

The look on Phoebe’s face said it all and Lach felt torn between leading them out the hotel door and kissing her again, which would lead them right back to where they fucking were. He just shook his head, not knowing what else to add on to his declaration.

“Then there’s nothing else to talk about,” Phoebe said, her earlier defiance sliding back into place as if she were born with that look. “We each took enjoyment out of a moment in time and now it’s back to reality. And let’s face it, Lach…you don’t belong in my reality.”

“Lach? Are you with us?” Crest asked with a pointed look, breaking Lach out of his trance. He brought his focus back around and ignored the stares. “I was saying that we’re going to use Gentry Protection for the armed details to cover three shifts. Each of you will oversee the specifics and the men or women assigned to each shift for each VIP, as well as be available to me during the day. I’m in the process of vetting the personnel now and I will give all of you the profiles of the agents who will be under your direction, as well as the files on your individual VIPs. Ensure you take time to look over their qualifications before we meet back here at three o’clock with Mr. Dunaway and his campaign manager. I expect you to know your assigned personnel as well as you would each squad member in your platoon back in the Corps.”