Ignited (Titanium Security Series) (29 page)

Gage took a couple shots of the plate and memorized it, then watched Youssef hurry toward the building. When the front doors closed behind him, Gage got hold of Dunphy to have him run the number and the photos, then texted Hunter to let him know they had a lead on Khan.

Gage sincerely hoped Khan was their guy. He’d be more than happy to go in there and frog march the bastard out of the building in front of his coworkers before he turned him over to the Paks. Right after he scared him so badly he made Youssef shit his pants.

His phone rang a few minutes later. Dunphy. Gage’s heart rate kicked up a notch. “Got some news?”

“Vehicle’s registered with a government agency, but I can’t find out which branch.”

“What about the other guy in the back?”

“Got a few possible hits in our system, but I can’t verify him with my software. I need Claire to look at it.”

The mention of her name would probably always make his gut tighten, but he knew they needed help on this. “Do it.”

“Already done.”

Gage tamped down the irrational surge of possessiveness he felt toward her. She wasn’t his anymore—when the fuck was his heart going to get that? “Let me know if she turns up anything.”

“Will do. You want us to stay here just in case?”

“For now. I’m staying put for the time being, until we can figure out what he’s up to.”

“Roger that.”

He hung up and sighed as he sank down into the seat to get comfortable. Surveillance sucked at the best of times because it was boring as shit, but especially when he was alone and had too much time to think about things best forgotten. Plus there was nothing to eat. Man, Ramadan really made you appreciate simple things like food and water when you were deprived of it all day long. The thirst was absolutely the worst part. He had a to-go cup of tea in the cup holder but it had gone cold well over an hour ago. What he wouldn’t give for a cup of coffee, hot, black and strong enough to float a Glock in.

Eventually the sun’s first rays finally peeked out around the edges of the engineering firm. Cars were starting to arrive more frequently now, all the employees filing into the building. None of them tripped his radar. Two minutes later, his phone rang.

Gage grabbed it from the center console, his heart giving a hard thud when he saw the text message from Claire.

Call me on my cell, ASAP. Urgent.

He frowned. Whatever it was, she didn’t want anyone else knowing about it, and that worried him. Shit, what the hell had she found?

Chapter Seventeen

Claire put on her screensaver—a picture of her, her brother and father—to cover up what she’d just found, though the image of the man was now permanently burned into her brain.

Malik Hassani.

She sat back and ran an unsteady hand through her hair. Her heart was racing double time because of what she’d just discovered on file. Holy shit, Gage and the others had no idea what they were up against. She had to warn them.

Claire prayed Gage would respond to her text. Things were about to get critical for everyone involved and she didn’t want him or the others to walk into the situation unawares. And that wasn’t the only thing that made her stomach twist. By poking around in the system and coming up with Malik Hassani’s name, she’d just flagged her activities to the entire NSA network, and probably a few more three letter agencies as well.

Shit, shit, shit.

She stood and rubbed a hand over her face, took a deep breath and headed for her boss’s office. Better to lay it on the line before they came to her, rather than have it look like she was trying to hide something. As it was, her ass might be put on probation for this, or worse. Hoping she was wrong about that, she knocked on Alex’s door and waited for permission to enter.

As always he was on the phone, and waved her in while he finished up. He was former Special Forces—ironically a trait the majority of the men in her life shared—and still very fit for being in his early fifties. He wore his usual pale blue dress shirt and black slacks, and his gray streaked dark hair was short and neat. His silver eyes met hers as she sank into the chair in front of his desk and waited for him to finish up, which he did a few moments later.

Alex set the receiver back in its cradle and leaned back in his chair, crossing one ankle over his knee in a picture of relaxed poise. “What’s up?”

Claire stifled the urge to wipe her damp palms on her dress pants, and licked her lips. Either he didn’t know what she’d done yet, or he was playing her to see if she’d come clean. She never knew with him. “I have a situation I need to report.”

His posture and expression never changed. “Okay. Shoot.”

Where to begin? “I was checking into something and got a hit that you need to be aware of.” Alex didn’t respond, not so much as a flicker of an eyelid. She blew out a breath and plunged onward. “A friend contacted me and asked me to run some information about some chatter between a Pakistani civilian and the TTP.”

“And this friend,” Alex said slowly, “knew to contact you for this
how
?”

“I owed him a favor.” Her face was bright red, she knew it was. “He’s former SF and now contracting in Pakistan.”

Alex grunted. He put his foot back on the floor, sat up and folded his hands on top of his desk. “So you’re here to inform me that you’ve been looking into something you shouldn’t have.”

“Partly, yes. But the information I found is going to be flagged in the agency database, because—”

“And you wanted to come clean before I found out on my own,” he finished, one dark eyebrow arching.

God, it was near impossible to not squirm under the intensity of that gaze. “Yessir. But there’s more—” She faltered as her phone buzzed in her pocket. Gage. Had to be. She resisted the urge to grab it and check the display.

“Your friend?” Alex asked wryly. “What’s his name?”

SF was a tight knit community. Despite their age difference, it was possible Alex and Gage had crossed paths at some point. “Gage Wallace.”

Alex’s gaze sharpened with interest. “I know Wallace. Solid operator. What’s he working on that he needed intel from you?”

Her phone vibrated again. Though she desperately needed to warn Gage, she didn’t dare talk to him here. Instead she gestured to the computer on Alex’s desk. “I found a link a few minutes ago—a big one. If you wouldn’t mind looking up Malik Hassani, Islamabad.” She reached down and silenced her phone without looking at it, sending a silent apology to Gage.

Alex’s brows immediately drew together. He turned to his computer without a word, making Claire sure that he was already familiar with the name. A few keystrokes and commands later, Alex turned his head to look at her in astonishment. “You mean him?” He angled the screen toward her so she could see Hassani’s face; a middle aged Pakistani man with black eyes and a closely trimmed goatee.

“Yes. I looked into it, and since the bombing last night in Peshawar there’s been chatter about another operation in the planning stages. It’s set for this morning, but they don’t mention where or who the target is.” Though she could guess and she wanted to be sure Gage knew what was happening. At least her voice sounded more confident than she felt. This information was important, and if she was smart she could frame what she’d stumbled upon as a win for both her and the agency. She just needed to find a way to make this work in her favor. Claire waited, bracing for a reprimand at the dark look on her boss’s face.

“Start at the beginning,” he commanded, his attention riveted on her, his posture radiating urgency.

Claire did, explaining about Youssef Khan and how he was linked to Hassani, how Titanium Security was involved in everything. She mentioned Khalia Patterson and her father, John, his kidnapping and murder and the riots that had cost the life of the American security contractor Scottie Easton.

Alex’s mouth was a thin line by the time she finished. “You realize who Hassani is, right?”

She nodded. “I do now.” And it made her feel sick to think of Gage being involved in anything to do with that slimy asshole.

Alex grabbed the phone and dialed someone, barking orders about gathering a team. She pulled her phone out, saw Gage’s text.

What’s up? I’m out doing recon. Call me.

She’d call him the first chance she got. When Claire got up to leave the room, however, Alex pinned her with a hard stare and thrust a finger at her chair in a silent command to sit, so she sank back down. A humiliated flush rose in her cheeks. In her three years with the agency, she’d cultivated a spotless service record and reputation. If she didn’t spin her involvement in this situation the right way, this one favor to Gage had the potential to blow it all to hell.

Claire forced herself to sit still and await Alex’s response. She’d known coming in here to expect a dressing down, but now she was afraid that her job might be on the line. It was her own fault for bending the rules, but then, there wasn’t much she wouldn’t do for Gage.

Except let him back into her life, that is.

Alex made two more calls then stood and crossed to the front of the desk, holding her gaze. “Go to your station and show me everything you pulled up. I want to see the chat room evidence myself, and I’ll need to talk to Tom Webster about Titanium’s involvement in all of this and what’s going on.”

Claire wasn’t about to argue. She hurried back to her computer and started pulling everything up as people began to gather around. Alex quickly briefed everyone and divided them into teams before delegating various tasks, including contacting the State Department, Homeland Security, the CIA and FBI. Claire’s poking had disturbed one hell of a hornet’s nest.

Each passing minute was its own separate agony. When everyone had broken up to take on their new assignments, Claire finally looked up at Alex. He was staring at her screen reading the e-mails from Youssef to his TTP contact, his eyebrows drawn together in concentration. From his time in SF he was fluent in Pashto, and it was clear he didn’t like what he was reading now.

“Sir,” she began, “I have to contact Gage and let him know what’s going on before they act on the intel they’ve gathered.”

Alex flicked her an annoyed look. “Get Tom on the phone and I’ll brief him myself, then he can alert his team. As of this moment, you’re on a short leash.”

Her stomach clenched. “What? But I just brought us a huge find with this—”

“I know what you did and I can see the bigger picture here, but you also know the rules. And while I admire you for coming to me right away, I have to do my job and part of that includes making sure I can trust my staff to obey protocol. Understood?”

“So I’m on probation?”

“Not officially.” He slanted her a sharp look. “Not unless you make it necessary.”

Meaning he’d be keeping a close eye on her from now into the foreseeable future. Lowering her eyes, she pulled out her cell phone and handed it to him. “Yes, sir.”

Damn you, Gage.

With all the other shit she was dealing with in her personal life, her career was one of the only bright spots in her existence, and now it might be in jeopardy. Even when Gage wasn’t technically in her life anymore, he still managed to wreak havoc in it.

Yet through all the anger and embarrassment, the growing sense of fear was strongest. Hard as it was to acknowledge the amount of shit she might face from the NSA over this, Claire was preoccupied with Gage’s safety. Because she knew him. Hell, she’d spent her whole life surrounded by men like him, men who lived and died by the brothers-in-arms code. If the militants launched this next attack and caught the team unprepared, she knew without a doubt that Gage wouldn’t hesitate to give his life to defend his teammates.

And she also knew it would kill her if that happened.