Protecting the Enemy (6 page)

He wiped his greasy orange fingers on his shirt. “Got it.”

Reid memorized the address and grabbed Julianna’s hand. “Time to go.”

When they were outside, Julianna looked at Reid. “Are we going to check out that address right now?”

“No, we have no idea what we are up against. We’ll get a room near by and then wait to scope the place out in the middle of the night. Boss never contacted me after ten p.m. If it’s his headquarters, it’s a safe bet he won’t be around after that time.”

***

The nearest room to the boarded up warehouse happened to be a cheap motel. The kind a person rented for the hour instead of the night. Julianna saw a cockroach scatter up the dingy wall and she jumped into Reid’s arms.

He laughed. “You’re afraid of a little bug?”

“Little? You call that thing little?” she screeched. “I’m not going near that bed.”

“You’re a trained assassin. Go kill it, if it bothers you.”

She swallowed and looked over at the wall. Shivers ran down her spine. Her feet seemed to be glued to the floor. Reid shook his head and removed his shoe. He smacked the creepy-crawly with a sickening crunch. “Another hour and we’ll be out of here.”

Julianna cringed and shivered. Bugs were something that made her squirm. Especially ones that were as resilient as those. Any bug that made an audible sound when smashed made her want to run in the opposite direction. The fear must have come from her past.

She rubbed her arms and stood next to Reid as he peered out the window to the warehouse across the street. The only part of her touching the room was the soles of her shoes. She’d give those a good scraping on the concrete later.

When Reid motioned that is was time to leave, she couldn’t get out of there fast enough. They walked across the street. If not for the light of the full moon they would have had a hard time seeing anything.

  Reid picked a lock on the side of the building. They stepped inside. From a bug motel to the kingdom of rodents and cobwebs. The emptiness wasn’t much of a surprise. The location only confirmed that Boss was a part of this in some way. Their meetings had always taken place in random warehouses or empty buildings. It was three a.m., so they didn’t have much time before the sun came up and to get back to safety. Reid walked around with his flashlight, Julianna by his side. “There has to be something here, some significance. This was the only address listed.”

They searched and searched the place with the beam of Reid’s flashlight. She stayed close behind him.

Julianna sighed and crossed her arms. “There’s nothing here, we’ve combed over the place for an hour.”

Something had to be here. He could feel it. “I won’t accept that. I’m not leaving here until we find something.”

He walked along the walls a dozen times shining his light into every nook and cranny. Frustration coursed through his body. He hated when he couldn’t find something he wanted so desperately, kind of like when he’d searched so long for Julianna and had never found her. What was it they were taught? Hide in plain sight. He stopped walking, causing Julianna to slam into the back of him.

“What?”

“Boss’ table was always set up in the exact center of the building every time I met with him.” Excitement built inside his chest as he counted steps to the precise center of the empty space. He looked down and saw barely visible hinges on a metal hatch inlaid in the concrete.

He turned to Julianna. “Here!” With steady hands, Reid picked the lock embedded in the metal.

Julianna bent over him, her long silky hair brushed over his face, before she moved it to the side and damn if it didn’t smell good. Inside the compartment was a dark brown briefcase which held an accordion style file. Reid smiled, grabbed the folder and put the briefcase back how he’d found it. He stood up clutching the file.

“What do you think’s in there?”

He tucked the papers into his jacket. “Answers.”

They left the dark building with the only lead they’d had since the day they ran. Reid felt sweat form on his forehead despite the chilly air. They got into the car. Reid drove away. They wouldn’t look inside the file until they were a safe distance away from the warehouse.

***

Julianna paced the small, but bug free motel room while Reid read over the file for the third time. Should she tell him she knew Brandon Voss? Why did
Brandon want her dead? Were Brandon Voss and Boss the same man? The height and build were the right, even the hair color, but their eyes and voices were different. Contacts could change the eyes, but their voices were so unlike. Of course she’d been medicated in the hospital when she’d met Brandon. Her head had felt kind of fuzzy until a few days after she’d met Boss. She hadn’t had a clue what she was going to do or who she was, then Brandon Voss showed up giving her a life line. His eyes were kind and she’d even imagined what it would have been like if he were her father. He’d taken her for a long drive, on which he’d told her about ETE 7. About Boss. About her saving good people and belonging to an organization so special and important that it was classified.

She watched Reid rub his scruffy face. He was overdue for a shave, but he looked even sexier with the stubble. “We are on a hit ordered by B. Voss. It’s as if Boss or B. Voss invented ETE 7 by himself. I see no evidence that
Washington D.C. knows anything about it. Who the hell have we been killing for?”

“I don’t know.”  A tear trickled down Julianna’s cheek. “I don’t know anything anymore.”

“There’s another address. We’ll have to check it out.”

“Probably just another warehouse.” She sniffled. “This feels like some sort of sick game Boss is playing.”

“All the other members had minor criminal records except for you. You were clean and going into law enforcement, until recruited by Boss.” He eyed her as if searching for answers. “Why are you different?” His eyes scanned the papers. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

“None of it does!” She made fists as a cry escaped her lips. She shook her head back and forth, trying to block out everything. She just wanted it to all go away. Maybe the truth wasn’t what she really wanted. Sometimes the truth hurt too badly. Like when she woke up and the doctors told her that she was alone, had no family that had come to look for her. She had numbed herself to dull the pain.

Reid walked over and cupped her face with his hands. She closed her eyes before another tear could slip out. She turned her face into his strong hand. He felt so good. Like home. He was the only thing in this hot mess that made perfect sense.

Reid moved closer, before she could open her mouth to speak, he bent down and pressed his lips to hers. A hungry kiss, like she’d never been kissed before.

Or maybe had, she couldn’t remember.

She matched the heat his tongue and lips created when they met with hers. Their mouths moved together in what seemed to be a never ending dance. Her heart threatened to pound out of her chest when she felt his solid need pressed against her softness. A need that surely matched her own puddling desire. Feeling starved for the man, she pulled off her shirt and went for his zipper with no shame. Her lacey bra strap slipped from her shoulder. If she didn’t have him now, she would combust.

He grabbed her hand to stop her. The pained look in his eyes worried her that he wasn’t going to give her what she needed.

“Not like this. I want you so much it hurts, but I want you to want me because you remember that you love me. Not just because you’re upset and want to forget.”

Anger ripped through her. How dare him get her all scorching, then pull away? Couldn’t he see how much she needed this? She glared at him before grabbing her shirt from the floor and storming to the bathroom, breathing so heavy the inhale and exhale of air was loud even to her own ears.

***

Reid turned and punched the wall. Shit! He should have just kept his heart and brain out of it. It’s obvious she wasn’t interested in either of those parts of him anyway. He shook his hand. It wasn’t broken, but it was red and aching. He sighed and sat down on the bed. The woman really didn’t comprehend how much of a hold she had on him.

Julianna walked out of the bathroom still glaring. “I’m leaving. I’m going to find Boss. I want out of all this.”

Reid shook his head. “It’s not as easy as turning in a resignation. You belong to ETE 7. We both do. You need me to survive.” He should have known the deal was too sweet when he’d joined. Boss had lured him in by making him out to be some sort of hero. Told him that he’d be able to take justice into his own hands in one swift action, something mere law enforcement couldn’t accomplish. He’d always struggled to be a good man, do what was right. That was his chance and he’d taken it.

She crossed her arms. “Fine. How do we unbelong?”

He dragged his fingers through his hair. “We make the other members our next assignment. We have to eliminate them all. That’s the only way we’ll be free.”

She nodded, not meeting his eyes.

He reached out and grabbed her hand. It warmed him from the inside out. Fighting the aching need to pull her close and finish what they’d started, he let go of her. “We need to talk about what just happened.”

Her face was blank. “You mean what almost happened. There’s nothing to talk about. Emotions get in the way of the job.”

She was right. They were breaking rules not meant to be broken. At least not until they figured out what was going on.

Chapter 5

J
ulianna reached across the table and handed Reid a fortune cookie. He crushed the yellowish-orange shell, then read the strip of white paper aloud.
If you want it… get it.
Reid shrugged and smiled. He walked around the table and grabbed Julianna by her legs, lifting her up over his shoulder. Her hair hung a curtain over her face. Dizzy with laughter, the blood rushed to her head.

Julianna bolted upright in bed and rubbed her eyes. Had the dream been just a dream or was it a memory? Her life was like a yard sale puzzle missing most of its pieces.

Reid sat on the edge of the mattress. “Hey, sleeping beauty. You were laughing in your sleep.”

She felt her face heat up. “I was?”

He touched the tip of her nose as if nothing had happened between them.

“Yeah, it was kind of cute.”

Julianna forced herself to roll her eyes instead of smile. She wouldn’t tell him about her silly dream which is probably all it was. “Great, why were you watching me sleep?”

“I wasn’t, but I did come over here when you started laughing. It was quite entertaining.”

She tossed the covers aside and got up. “I’m so glad I could amuse you.” Exasperated, but also captivated with the man, she stomped into the bathroom to take a shower. As she took off her clothes she closed her eyes. She ached to feel the way she had in her dream. She wanted Reid. God help her she wanted him bad.

***

Reid pulled the car up to 535 Union Ave, the address they’d found inside the file from the warehouse. High-power official types lived in the area. The magnificent brick home was nestled on a lush green lawn. The back was surrounded by a six-foot iron security fence. He turned the car around and parked down the street, a dozen houses down, just to be safe. The last thing they wanted was for Boss to spot them before they could get to him.

Julianna narrowed her eyes. “You really think Boss is inside?”

Reid gripped the steering wheel. “Let’s go find out.” He opened the car door. Julianna’s blood pressure had to be sky high. Never did she think she would confront Boss with anything. Now that the time had come she remembered that the man was scary. And he was an expert at erasing people. She followed Reid around the back of the property where a row of mature oaks with leaves just beginning to change orangish-red, provided privacy. The trees would serve as their way inside.

“The fence isn’t electric. We can climb over easy enough.” He grabbed a hold of the lowest branch and hoisted himself up. He offered a hand to her, but she shook her head. She was used to working alone. They all were. She’d never met the other members of ETE 7. Only Reid because he’d been her handler.

Julianna wrapped herself around the rough trunk and ascended into the mighty tree. When they were level with the top of the fence, Reid paused.

Hugging a tree wasn’t the most comfortable thing to do. She started to slide so reached up and tightened her grip on the limb. Her hands were sure to have blisters. She grew impatient. “What are you waiting for?”

He strained his neck from side to side. “Do you see any dogs?”

Julianna crinkled her forehead and smirked. “You’re afraid of a little pooch?”

“No,” he snapped. “I’m afraid of their little sharp teeth.”

She pressed her lips together to keep from laughing at the big bad assassin afraid of Fido. “No, I don’t see any dogs.”

Reid turned to her. “He doesn’t have much security outside. I just don’t want to be surprised. We need to be the only ones doing the surprising.”

“Oh, I think he’ll be surprised. He would never expect a visit from us in broad daylight.”

He mounted the roof of the potting shed. “Cocky SOB probably thinks he’s safe.”