Hard Case (2 page)

His comment had been true. As a triage nurse, Steven did have steady and skilled hands. But it was so much more than that. Steven’s fingers were long and tanned, handsome and Troy would bet everything they were talented. Wickedly so. Troy’s embarrassment didn’t come from any lack of truth in his observation, but from the fact he hadn’t been quite ready to make that admission public yet—especially not in front of Finlay.

Steven had found them a currently empty, closet-sized room. Emily sat on a rickety hospital bed, clad only in a lacy black bra. Her sweater and bulletproof vest looked worse for the wear, but were neatly laid next to her. Her back was to Troy as Steven checked her for signs of cracked or splintered bones, or other internal damage from the impact of the bullet hitting the hard ceramic plates.

Steve lifted his head, gazing at him with dark blue eyes. The corner of his mouth hitched into a small smile, amusement sparkling in his glance.

“I’ve trained hard to get my hands this professional, I’d hope they’re skillful,” he teased in return. When he looked back to Emily’s torso, Troy could see the professional walls come back up, the nurse in full control now. “I’d still suggest an X-ray would be the safest course of action. You realize it’s quite difficult to make judgments on things like internal bleeding without such scans.”

“Troy recommended you,” Fin said, as he leaned against the wall. Tall, lanky and with a mop of unruly hair, he frequently reminded Troy of a skinny Prince Charming. Always ready with a quick grin, Fin had a tendency to wear outrageously colored blazers, vests and slacks, somehow managing to be fashionable when wearing such things as purple jackets with orange pants.

Troy had long ago given up trying to work out how Fin made it work. He was one of a kind.

“Yes, Mr. Thompson,” Emily added. “Really, I know my body well and have been through similar physical experiences. I don’t believe there is any damage, but Fin
insisted
I get looked at properly.”

Emily cast a smile to her partner. Her dark gaze seemed friendly enough, but there was an edge, a coldness to her that Troy recognized. He’d been in some of the less publicized sections of the armed forces. He knew the façade and demeanor of a well-trained, professional assassin when he saw it.

Steve glanced from Emily to Fin and sighed. When he turned back to Troy, he grinned and shrugged his shoulders as if to say ‘what do you expect me to do about it?’

“He’s your friend?” Steve indicated Fin with his chin. Troy nodded, but then realized how Steve might interpret that—despite Fin’s obviously being completely besotted with Emily.

“Yes. Er…no. We occasionally work together and are friends, yes—not…” Troy let the words taper off and cleared his throat, embarrassed again.

He couldn’t remember ever being so flustered and uncertain with another person. He’d never been arrogant enough to be uncivil or labeled as a genuine, coldhearted bastard, but neither was he usually fussed by the impression he left on others.

Troy liked being right, loved to solve puzzles and have all the little pieces fit neatly together and if he bruised an ego here or shattered a soap-bubble fantasy there…well that was life, really, wasn’t it?

So it was astonishing and rather uncomfortable for him to realize he wanted to appear in a good light to Steve. The man had seem more mayhem, death and destruction than any innocent person could lay claim to. Yet there was still a sweetness, an inherent belief in good overcoming evil in Steve that appeared soul-deep. Troy felt protective of that. The more he came to know him, the stronger his desire was to make certain Steve never became cynical or jaded. Troy didn’t want to see him lose that rare optimism.

“It’s okay,” Steve interrupted Troy’s thoughts.

Troy met his blue gaze and warmth prickled along his skin. When their eyes met like this, no matter how platonic and common their conversation was, Troy always had the sense it was just the two of them, communicating more than mere words.

“I get it,” Steve added with a small smile.

This was one of those moments where Troy could feel the weight of unspoken words flowing between them, the air electric with chemistry.

I only meant to tease you,
Steve’s gaze said.

I often miss those subtleties,
Troy conveyed with a shrug.

They exchanged a knowing, secretive glance.

“Thank you, Miss Camber,” Steve’s voice and manner were purely professional once again. “I believe you’re right. There’s no broken bones. But I’ll prepare a cream for you to help speed the healing of those bruises.”

Steven turned to the small trolley he’d brought with him into the room. Pulling out a small, metal mixing bowl, he then began to grind some powders together. After a minute, he added some saline solution to form a paste.

“The bruising is quite severe,” he said, glancing to Emily.

She picked up the black cashmere sweater gingerly, careful not to snag it on her wound, and pulled it back on.

“If you find when the adrenaline finally wears off that you have any sharp, or shooting pains, particularly in your chest or lungs, you should come back immediately,” Steve said. “I’d recommend you get that X-ray and speak to the doctors. For now, I’ll take you at your word and find you a few pain pills. I also want you to use this ointment. Spread it liberally over the worst of the bruising and apply it regularly. You’re quite lucky this wasn’t far more serious.”

“That bastard James is the lucky one,” Emily muttered darkly. “I’m going to hunt that cocky sonofabitch down, and then I’m going to—”

“You’ll do no such thing,” Fin interrupted with a firmness that surprised Troy. “You’ll leave this whole mess to me and Troy. We’ll figure it out and then straighten out anyone who needs it.”

“Right,” Troy agreed, as he sat in one of the damnably uncomfortable plastic chairs. “Or even just me. This is the good part of only being a consultant. I can do what I like and step on any toes I need.”

He sat forward, rested his elbows on his knees and let his chin fall into his palms. Troy traced his fingers thoughtfully along his jaw. Blocking out the dozen or more thoughts cramming for his attention, he focused instead on the knotty problem Fin and Emily had uncovered.

“Keyton Marshall is an emissary from the Prime Minister himself to the Agency.” Troy started thinking aloud.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Fin glance uneasily at Steven, but Troy continued. He knew the nurse well enough to know how deeply his patriotism ran. Troy didn’t have the slightest doubt about the man’s agenda or his trustworthiness. “Marshall and the PM went to school together and there’s never been even a whiff of scandal attached to Marshall’s name. Yet seemingly from nowhere our boss calls Fin in to check Marshall out, having heard rumors of possible dirty deals. Fin, did Preston indicate where he’d heard these stories?”

“No,” Fin hesitated a second, cast another glance at Steven then flicked his eyes to Emily. He relaxed his shoulders, seeming reassured by whatever thoughts crossed his mind. Fin’s posture once again became easy and casual. “But wherever Preston heard the murmurings from, it can’t have been an impeccable source. He wanted me to look into this quietly, outwardly appear to be just another of Marshall’s bodyguards but nose around on the sly.”

“Unless you have iron-clad, physical evidence in your hand, Keyton Marshall is not a man to point fingers at,” Troy said thoughtfully.

“Those are the most dangerous kinds of people though,” Emily added in a soft tone. She twisted around so she could look at both Fin and Troy as she spoke.

“It’s those above reproach, who no one ever thinks to doubt and who wield a lot of power that can be most easily tempted to step over the line.”

Troy thought about that, but Emily continued, her tone vibrating with the passion she clearly had on the topic.

“It usually starts for a perfectly good reason. But after you’ve stepped over that line once, another case comes along, and then it’s twice. It’s three times and it becomes a very slippery slope.”

“We’ve seen it before,” Fin agreed, glancing at Troy. “And how complicated such situations can become in a short period of time.”

Troy nodded. Watching Fin and Emily together he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have a life partner on whom he could rely on so fully. Despite the seriousness of their situation, Troy found his gaze sliding to Steven. He had remained silent through their discussion as he prepared the cream for Emily. He appeared deep in thought though, and Troy wondered where his mind was at.

“I still don’t think we can know whether this was a plot to kill Emily or a need to get rid of Keyton that’s gone awry,” Troy said. When Fin looked ready to argue with him, he continued hastily. “I agree this situation is dangerous for Emily, and I think the two of you should lay low—or even head out for a week away in the country somewhere. Clearly you’re not safe here for now. But this whole situation is murky. I can look into it while you’re both far away from here.”

“I’m not sure I’m comfortable writing James off at the moment. Maybe he just went mad for a moment and lost his temper, or—” She shrugged when Fin shot her an outraged look. “Or whatever. But it’s clear we can’t stay here in London, at least not for a while.”

Steven smiled at her comment but remained silent. Troy enjoyed seeing the mirth shining in his gaze. Distracted by the nurse, Troy didn’t even notice how the quiet filled the room for a moment. Seeming to take the opportunity, Steve handed a glass of water to Emily and held out two pills for her to take.

“Excellent. Painkillers,” she murmured. Emily took them with a promptness that told Troy she must genuinely be hurt. Steven’s caring manner was emphasized in his solicitous moves and had been evident in the gentle but thorough way he’d examined her earlier. Troy felt himself sidetracked again, watching those hands as Steven took the empty glass back and started to fill a small bottle with a handful more of the pills.

Shaking his head, Troy tried to drag his mind back. He needed to focus if he were to investigate this on his own. A small spark of guilt fluttered through him. Troy had to acknowledge a part of him also wanted Fin and Emily to leave, so he could ask Steven to meet him later on, perhaps for dinner later tonight. Maybe once that was squared away, he’d be able to focus. The silence had lengthened now, and Troy cleared his throat, determined to get his mind back on track.

“What we really need to find is the link between James and Marshall,” he said. “Maybe they’ve had dealings together in the past, some sort of business agreement that went sour. There has to be something. I promise I’ll dig into it, find out what’s going on and follow through on it.”

“I know I shouldn’t interrupt,” Steven inserted in his low, calm voice. “This really isn’t any of my business, but from what you’ve all just said about this man James, I can’t imagine Keyton having anything to do with him—not in a business or personal sense.”

Troy snapped his head up and glanced at him. Something in his tone indicated his words weren’t just a casual observation or guess. There was weight behind them, a firmness of knowing, not postulating. Troy connected the dots to the most logical conclusion. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Do you mean you
know
Marshall would never knowingly work in an underhand manner? Be in collusion with someone like this James fellow? How are you connected to Marshall? Are you friends?”

“Acquaintances.” Steve nodded. “I was a few years behind him at school. We were in the same House, so we played football together sometimes at the school sports events.”

“You went to school together?” Troy repeated, his brain connecting this fact with the others, even as his mouth continued to move.

“My family comes from money,” Steve answered with a puzzled look. “We’re by no means rich or aristocracy, but I don’t need this job to make ends meet. I work because I enjoy it…gives me a sense of satisfaction.”

Troy did listen to Steven’s response, but it felt like it was far away. Pieces of the picture the case had clicked into place with an almost audible
snap
. He stood with a rush, looking around him as his brain moved faster than he could keep up with. Lurching a little as pins and needles pricked his senses—he hadn’t realized he’d been sitting in the same position for quite so long—he crossed the tiny room in three strides.

“Your phone,” he bluntly asked Fin. “I need your phone. This
has
to be connected. It’s too much to be coincidence. The PM, Marshall, now Steve—all at the same school around the same time.”

“Oh,” Fin said. “Right. You think this connects back that far—that James knew them too.”

Troy was pleased. All too often he was the first to see the big picture when an investigation started to make sense, and people thought him mad. Normally he could happily ignore the snide comments as others fell behind, but he was glad Fin could see where his brain was leading him. Fin dug into the pocket of his royal blue blazer and pulled out his phone. He held it out and Troy took it.

“I think I can see how we can make the old boy’s network work for us for a change. People know people who went to school or grew up with each other. Those relationships last for life. I bet James is connected to that, which means Steven can tell us who this James fellow really is.”

Troy tapped the camera app, bringing up the photos stored on the card’s memory. Fin had mentioned earlier that he’d managed to take a couple of quick snaps before James had shot Emily.

“What do you mean James isn’t his real name?” Steven asked, clearly perplexed. Troy came to stand next to him, having brought up the full-body shot of James. Clearly taken from a distance, it wasn’t the best resolution, but it did have James front and center.

“I never believed James was his real name. More a working moniker,” Emily added. “I could be totally mistaken, but that was certainly the impression I got. He seemed smug, arrogantly so. James is one who likes to hold the cards and wield the power. It makes sense for him to enjoy playing the spy and use a false name.”

When Steven looked at Troy, he appeared both eager and wary.