Packing Heat (19 page)

By the time Harmony came out of the bathroom, he was able to fully appreciate the sweatpants and matching tank she must have bought for herself when she’d supplemented his wardrobe a couple days before. The pants were the kind that skimmed across her hip bones and left a strip of bare skin before the hem of the tank got in the way. The material was all clingy, too . . .

And he’d just rediscovered his detachment. He couldn’t afford to lose it again if he was going to put himself first. “So what did you really do at the FBI?”

She moved away from him, keeping her eyes, and her thoughts, to herself. “I tracked computer criminals.”

That stopped him. “If you’re good enough to catch hackers, what do you need me for?”

“I didn’t exactly catch hackers.”

“Offshore cyber-criminals?”

“Uh-uh.”

“Lonely geeks who unleash worms and viruses from their mom’s basements?”

“No.”

“High school kids who trash their friends on Facebook?”

“I track down copyright violators, okay? You know the FBI warning at the beginning of a movie you rent or buy? That’s me.”

“You’re the DVD police?”

“I’m the person who takes down bootleg movies on the Internet and prosecutes the perpetrators.”

Cole was feeling a lot better suddenly, trying-not-to-laugh-his-ass-off better. “How long have you been with the FBI?”

Harmony’s eyes narrowed on his mouth, probably because it was twitching. “Almost five years.”

“And you’ve been the DVD police all that time?”

“I’m not the DVD police,” she snapped. “And no. I’ve only been in Cyber Crime the last twenty months or so.”

“There must be a reason you weren’t put in the field.”

She clamped her jaw shut for a minute, then said on a little burst of temper, “They think I have trouble compartmentalizing.”

Cole didn’t bother trying to keep a straight face. “In other words, you get emotionally involved.”

“No, those are pretty much the exact words they used. And you should be grateful, since that’s the reason I decided to break you out of jail.”

“You broke me out of jail because you have something to prove.”

Her gaze flew to his, and she looked a little startled, probably because he’d pegged her. She didn’t like it, her expression going sulky. But she told the truth. He had to give her credit for that.

“I’m here to get Richard free,” she admitted. “That’s first and foremost. If I prove something to somebody along the line, that’s great, but I’m going to carry out my mission.”

“Sure, because you have all those skills from tracking down the high school audio/visual nerd and confiscating his bootleg copy of
Girls Gone Wild
.”

“I haven’t let you down yet, have I? And when Richard is free I’m going to make sure you don’t go back to jail.”

She took a deep breath, and he got the impression she was mentally squaring her shoulders. In actuality she came to hover behind him again, warm and fresh-smelling, and completely distracting.

“If you’re done laughing at me, can we get back to business?”

“Sure,” Cole said.

He’d gotten into the FBI system without being kicked out or feeling like he was being tracked. He’d moved the money for the kidnappers, and he’d taken steps toward securing his own future. He had a full stomach and a beautiful woman draped over him, like the icing on the cake. He pulled Harmony into his lap.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” she said.

“Neither do I.” But he kissed her anyway, the rush of heat and pleasure no less incredible for being familiar. The way his heartbeat thundered in his ears, the feel of her mouth on his, her body a living flame he threw himself into—

Until she tore herself out of his arms.

It took a second or two for reality to batter its way past the need. The look on her face was a big help, not to mention she was staring at the door. Cole wasn’t sure he wanted to know why. But he turned slowly and there were Irene and Leo. The molding around the door was splintered, the door hanging on one hinge behind them, smashed in while he was lost in a sexual haze.

Leo stationed himself in front of the opening, a Russian fireplug with one goal, to keep them from leaving, which he accomplished pretty handily.

It was a typical motel room, with the door and a large window on one side, Leo and Irene effectively blocking both of them. A bed, a small round table, and a cheap dresser with a television on it completed the décor. There was a window in the bathroom, but Harmony couldn’t fit through it, let alone him. That left the table or TV, which he could throw and they would duck, and then laugh at him.

“Irene and Leo,” Harmony said, edging ever so slightly away from him. Toward her gun, which she’d left on the other side of the table.

Cole couldn’t believe the Russians were unaware of her intentions, but they did nothing to stop her.

“Irina,” the woman corrected on her own behalf. She felt no need to perform the same service for Leo. It was probably hard enough to get him to answer to one name, let alone confusing him with another.

“How did you find us?” Harmony wanted to know.

“We have been following from the first,” Irina said. “At prison, monitoring police radios, in Pennsylvania, being talked to death,” she added with a slight sneer.

“It was your choice to pick us up. Why didn’t you just kidnap us then? We were stuck in the backseat of your car for hours.”

Irina’s lip curled. She didn’t want to be reminded. “You lie to us about him.” She stabbed a finger at Cole.

“Right, and what happened to your Southern drawl, which, by the way, wasn’t very convincing.”

“It’s probably not a good idea to piss off the Russians,” Cole said.

“If they wanted us dead, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Harmony told him, never taking her eyes off Irina. “But since we are, I have some questions. How did you find us again? We lost you back at Shawville.”

Irina shrugged, looking smug since she’d remembered she had the upper hand again. “We split up. We know you are going to Los Angeles. We know you drive fancy car. Tulsa logical city to stop for night. Leo not so good at drive car, but he do it.”

“Are you saying you just drove around until you found us?” Cole asked.

“Da.”

Damned car
, Cole thought, trading a look with Harmony, and damn him for getting into an adolescent fever over it.

“It’s not your fault,” Harmony said to him. “They haven’t pulled their weapons, so I’m guessing they have something to say.”

Irina bumped up an eyebrow and nodded once, a sort of Russian touché. “We have come to make offer,” she said.

Harmony was already shaking her head. “I’m not interested.”

“Is not for you.” Irina jerked her head in Cole’s direction. “Is for him.”

Harmony nearly gave herself whiplash, she looked at him so fast.

Cole was just as surprised. “Me? Why?”

“There is reason she break you out of jail.” Irina’s gaze shifted to the laptop on the table, then lifted to Cole’s again. “When we see you on television, when we have name, we find out how you break into FBI computer. She cannot get money without you. Is only reason to take risk.”

“Did you miss the part where I wasn’t good enough to keep myself from getting caught and sent to jail in the first place?” Cole interjected. True, he’d been set up, but they didn’t need to know that. He didn’t like where the conversation was headed. And he really didn’t like that Harmony was still edging toward the shoulder holster she’d left on the table. If bullets started to fly, he’d be the only one unarmed. That had seemed okay a few days ago when he’d considered the consequences of getting caught in possession. It didn’t seem such a wise decision under these circumstances.

“She has kept you from being caught again,” Irina was saying. “We will do same. And we will compensate you.”

“What makes you think I’m not compensating him?” Harmony asked.

Up went Irina’s eyebrow again, up went the corners of her mouth into that irritating little sneer. Her gaze shifted to the single chair in front of the table. “We will give him money.”

Harmony gave a slight, shocked laugh. “I think I’ve just been insulted, Cole.”

“I think you’re right.”

“I think you have no liking for FBI,” Irina said to Cole, getting in the act and managing to follow her own agenda at the same time. “They put you in jail for stupid reason. She will send you back when she is through with you.”

Cole was still fighting off the immediate, sphincter-clenching thought of going back to Lewisburg, when the rest of Irina’s implication sank in. He glanced over at Harmony and knew she’d already gotten the gist of what Irina’s deal meant for her.

“You’re going to kill me,” she said.

“They don’t have weapons,” Cole pointed out.

“They’re not going to take a chance of shooting a gun in here. Not only would it bring the police, they might hit you.”

“And they need me. But not you, and if they let you go, you’ll interfere.”

“They can’t take the chance I’ll let the FBI know what’s going on and cut off the money.”

“Very good,” Irina said.

“What guarantee do I have that you won’t kill me once I’ve done what you want?” Cole asked.

“Dead bodies are very messy,” Irina said.

“And you’ll be long gone by the time someone starts asking who made the mess.”

“The FBI will not keep promise to you, Cole Hackett. You will be returned to jail.”

Harmony kept her mouth shut, wisely, letting Cole make his own decision, even though, on the heels of her fit of honesty, she couldn’t know what he’d do.

But even though he didn’t trust the FBI, he’d made a deal with her. “I guess I have to turn you down,” he said to Irina.

“That is unfortunate. And unacceptable.”

Leo had gone dormant while they talked. Irina made a slight hand gesture, and he came to life, lumbering toward Cole as all hell broke loose.

Harmony dove for her gun, but Irina got to her first. Cole couldn’t do anything to help her because Leo threw himself the last few feet. Leo wasn’t built for speed, and his mental capacity was a big question mark, but he made up for it with sheer bulk, slamming into Cole like the Berlin Wall.

Cole hadn’t spent eight years working out just to look good, though. In prison his body had been a deterrent, especially after the first year or so when the other inmates had stopped taking him on to see if he had the meanness to back up the muscles. It had been a while since he’d had to fight, but he hadn’t forgotten the basic rules of jailhouse self-defense. Never back down, and fight dirty. And this time he had extra motivation.

He shoved the Russian off and jumped to his feet. He should have taken Leo out while he was still down, but he had to see how Harmony was doing against Irina. The answer was “not good.” The other woman had six inches and at least twenty-five pounds—all muscle—on Harmony, not to mention focus and attitude. Her task was to take Harmony out, and she clearly didn’t know the meaning of failure.

Harmony had enough training to give Irina a good fight, though; even as Cole watched she got in a beaut of a punch to Irina’s face, putting her whole weight behind it. Irina was going to need dark glasses for the next few days. But it was just a matter of time before big and mean won the day, Irina coming back with a blow to Harmony’s midsection that made Cole’s breath whoosh out in sympathy.

He started for the women, but Leo was on him again, and Cole had to concentrate on staying out of the reach of his massive arms. Pretty simple, since Leo was all bulk and no speed or planning. He just kept coming on, arms wide, trying to crush Cole in a massive bear hug. And he had stamina, damn it, along with a jaw of granite. Cole hammered his midsection and his face and it didn’t stop him until frustration and panic had Cole taking Leo out with a roundhouse kick to the head. Leo went down and Cole made sure he wasn’t getting up anytime soon, grabbing a handful of hair and rapping his head against the floor a couple of times for good measure.

He lunged to his feet and spun around, fearing the worst and finding it. Irina flipped around behind Harmony and wrapped one arm around her neck, the other coming up to the other side of Harmony’s jaw so that Irina’s arms were crossed in front of her windpipe. One quick twist and Harmony’s neck would be broken.

The table was between them. Cole knew he couldn’t get there in time to save her. He met Harmony’s gaze, saw the bare, stark knowledge of her situation before he shifted his attention to Irina. She looked back at him, eyes still hard and bright, a little anticipatory smile lifting one corner of her mouth. She didn’t go for the kill, letting the pleasure of it spin out. It was her only mistake.