Radiant Surrender (CSA Case Files Book 6) (26 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

“S
o there’s been no movement?”

Crest sprinkled powered sugar over the French toast that he’d made, setting it aside while the bacon finished cooking. Jessie had yet to come out from the bathroom, so he washed his hands before he leaned up against the counter and took the extra time to savor his coffee. He looked down at his chest to find that a bit of sugar had landed on his skin and he brushed it off. He was dressed comfortably in nothing but a pair of running pants. He’d called the office a few minutes prior and currently had his phone on speaker, knowing that one of his agents would be monitoring the situation that Crest had stirred with the Agency.

“Tango One is still secure and there’s been no attempts at elimination or infiltration of the suite by operatives. All service personnel have been vetted and have been with the Ivy for extended periods.” Jax Christensen was clear and concise, his displeasure evident through the phone connection. “Taryn is monitoring the other situation, while Ethan is making headway on those numbers you needed taken care of.”

Crest finally heard the shower shut off and he turned back to face the counter, setting his cup down and then picking up a fork to flip the bacon. Ryland had been given strict instructions to stay where he was until Schultz gave the signal to bring him into protective custody. His people were evaluating the list of names that had been provided, as well as digging into Carson Weaver’s professional conduct and somewhat unusual personal life. Ryland was safer where he was at the moment, not withstanding the far-reaching tentacles that Weaver had at his disposal. It wasn’t easy getting rid of someone without leaving a trail even with his influence. Ironically, it had become even more difficult recently due to the retirement of the principal target.

As for Taryn’s assignment, she was personally keeping electronic tabs on Carson Weaver in case he decided to make decisions that weren’t in CSA’s best interests. She had him bracketed nine ways to Wednesday. Crest had placed a number of GPS trackers in personal electronic items at his house and on his personal vehicle when Crest had paid him a visit in Virginia. The man certainly hadn’t gone by the book before and it was a safe assumption he wouldn’t start now. He was a man of routines. Old dogs could learn new tricks; however, they would never be able to change their spots.

Jessie hadn’t been aware of it, but when they’d arrived at the house he’d activated the security system across the miles of land that he owned. It was state of the art and if anything or anyone set it off, Taryn and the team would be automatically notified by encrypted electronic transmission, cell, and radio notification to the nearby state police barracks and preprogrammed mobilization orders to Red Starr HRT Headquarters in San Diego. With more ready firepower on call than the governor, Crest would be free to take whatever measures were needed to defend his and Jessie’s life in the interim. He wasn’t certain, if any, extreme measures that Weaver might take to eliminate his immediate problems.

“How are the preparations for Connor and Lauren’s wedding coming?” Crest wasn’t going to get in a discussion with Jax about the sweet deal that Ryland had been given. Jax had let his feelings be known in the team meeting after Crest had finished up with Weaver, but before Crest had been debriefed by one of Schultz’s agents. Jax had every right to be pissed, but sometimes that was the way the cards fell. “Please let them know that Jessie will be in attendance.”

“Is there anything you need us to do on this end with regards to her parents?”

Jax was a smart man and he had picked up on the fact that this wasn’t the time to talk about Ryland. He also didn’t ask exactly what Crest meant about Jessie being in attendance, because to do so would question whether she would be on Crest’s arm or someone else’s. Crest wasn’t going to discuss his personal life even with members of his inner circle. When he made his appearance with Jessie, their attendance would speak for itself.

“Not right now. Taryn’s dismantling the information that I provided her with and I’ll wait to hear back from her.” Crest heard a whisper of fabric coming from the bedroom and after he placed the bacon on their plates, he finally turned to see Jessie wearing nothing but a towel. She’d washed her hair and it was now bound up in said towel. There were telltale signs of their activities from last night, such as her clit still being quite swollen. That brought a smile to his face. She looked younger with her fresh face, but at the same time there was a new sexuality within her that caused a rush of hot blood to travel through him. He noticed that she glanced down toward his phone on the counter and realized that Jax had said something. “I didn’t catch that. Repeat.”

“Taryn thinks she’d made a positive ID and she’s plotting the location and timestamp to develop additional intelligence from secondary sources in the target area. It shouldn’t be much longer before we have a complete package.”

“Have her call me when she has everything tied up with a neat little bow.”

Crest used a finger to disconnect the line and then set both plates up at the counter. He set about making her coffee, waiting for the questions that were rumbling through her mind. Now that daylight was shining through the windows, he expected the guilt over being here instead of with her parents to rise like the desert wind.

“Did Jax just say that Taryn found Uncle John?” Jessie asked, coming closer to the counter but not taking a seat on the stool. As a matter of fact, Crest noticed that her hand went to where her towel was tucked up against itself to keep it balanced awkwardly. “When are we leaving?”

“We’re not leaving today.” Crest picked up his phone, knowing that Jessie wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything else unless she spoke with her parents. He should have thought this breakfast thing through first and he sighed in absolute resignation. “Taryn is still finding us the handler’s address along with what those numbers on that secreted piece of paper might mean. We won’t do anything until we’ve been given all of the facts. In the meantime, would you like to speak with your parents? I can call Lou and see if he can arrange it.”

“Yes, please, Gavin.” Jessie sighed with relief and nodded her head, her eyes now mesmerized by the French toast and bacon. “You made a real breakfast?”

“You’ll find I’m a relatively good cook, Jessica,” Crest answered with a wry smile. Jessie made it sound like he wouldn’t know a fork from a spoon. He was slightly insulted, but he’d let it pass this time. “Sit down, bare butt on the stool, and eat while I make the arrangements.”

It didn’t take Crest long to get Lou on the phone and in under fifteen minutes, Jessie was speaking with her mother over a recorded jailhouse phone line. On this short notice, only this one call had been authorized with a five-minute limit until arrangements on visitation could be made through the courts. Afterwards, Jessie phoned her sister and found out that the media
had
descended with a vengeance. Sarah had forwarded on her thanks through Jessie in hiring Townes to help keep the reporters at bay, but the circumstance stood to bring about more problems for the family in the long run. Crest didn’t want Jessie or Sarah getting attention at the moment. It made what they needed to do harder and more complicated.

“More coffee?” Jessie asked, holding up the pot that he’d made earlier. Crest had just finished placing the last plate into the dishwasher. It hadn’t been the breakfast he’d planned, but Jessie seemed to be more relaxed. He nodded his acceptance as he dried his hands on the dishtowel. “I feel a bit irresponsible, like I should be staying with Sarah helping her through this and protecting her instead of Townes.”

“One, you would only stir up the hornets’ nest with the media if you made an appearance.” Crest leaned up against the counter and crossed his arms, waiting for the coffee to cool down. Jessie was still only wearing her towel on her head, but she wouldn’t be for long. He’d allowed it because of the phone calls she’d been making. “Two, your sister isn’t dense. She knows that you’re working on something and the less she knows the better. Deniability will be her best friend.”

“And three?” Jessie asked, raising her eyebrow as if she expected him to continue. She looked too cute standing there with nothing but a towel as her crown. He’d have to change that.

“There is no three.” Crest’s phone rang and when he looked down at the device that was now on the counter, he inwardly groaned at another delay. Their morning was going by way too fast. “I have to take this. Go dry your hair and use the items I laid out in the bathroom to prepare yourself. Oh, and no towel.”

Crest didn’t wait to see if Jessie followed through with his instructions. While she’d been on the phone with her sister, he had gone into the bedroom and chose the items he’d wanted her to use. It was something to look forward to while he took this call. He made sure to grab his coffee before answering the phone.

“Give me an update.”

“You’ve officially made yourself an enemy combatant,” Schultz replied, the sound of horns and city life in the background. He was speaking of Weaver, but the name wouldn’t be spoken over an unsecure line “He is making people nervous who rarely blink an eye at this type of situation. We’re missing something and POTUS wants the intelligence now. That means yesterday, not today.”

“I have one of my agents looking into it.” Crest walked over to the window overlooking the lake, not really seeing the beauty of it as he thought back to his meeting with Weaver. “Something’s troubling me though. He was very adamant that he has connections that I don’t.”

“I don’t like where you’re going with this, Crest.”

“I’m reiterating what he said. I’m not making accusations, but it’s something we have to consider.” Neither man was going to mention the fact that someone close to POTUS might be involved with whatever conspiracy Weaver was involved with. It might not be Weaver that Ryland needed to worry about. The unfortunate part of all this is that Ryland’s problem had now become Crest and Schultz’s. “We need to pool our resources together. I’ll be on site by Monday.”

Crest disconnected and then took a drink of his coffee, which was now cold. He grimaced and then thought over the past week. What were they missing? Ryland had pretty much echoed the same words that Weaver had. This was bigger than all of them, which meant someone close to POTUS was pulling the strings. Maybe even POTUS himself, but it wouldn’t have made sense for him to give Ryland the pardon if he wanted this buried. Crest quickly sent a coded text to Taryn, who was probably chewing on the end of a pencil in glee as she read it. He’d just given her liberty to step outside the box and hoped like hell his agency didn’t come crumbling down when this thing came to an end and the whole mess was subjected to a Congressional Oversight Committee investigation into professional misconduct.

“You look upset.” Jessie’s appearance had him turning and for the tenth time, probably more, Crest found himself in awe of her beauty. She stood nude by the fire that he’d kept lit and he was pleased to see that she’d put on the items he’d laid out. The black garter belt and white stockings accentuated her waist and legs exquisitely and it framed her hairless pussy quite nicely. He had a bit of a fetish when it came to garter belts and stockings. She might be surprised to find that she would be wearing a great deal more of this type of combo when he had her in skirts and dresses. Like today, the lack of panties would offer endless possibilities for exposure and impromptu sexual antics. From the way she was slightly shifting her feet, it was clear that she’d also inserted the medium sized plug he’d chosen. “Did something happen?”

“Nothing that needs to be dealt with today.” Crest crossed the room, taking only a moment to set his phone and mug down on the coffee table. As much as he would have liked to immediately give her what they both physically wanted, he needed to see where her state of mind was at presently. The punishment had been rather quick and not what he’d intended. He’d also promised her that he would be himself, to allow her into the darker recesses of his soul. “Do you have any questions for me?”

“Questions?” Jessie shifted her weight once more as her brows turned down in frustration. “No, everything was pretty self-explanatory.”

Crest refrained from laughing at the way she’d misconstrued his words. Jessie kept things lively, but though looking at her now spoke volumes of her arousal, he was concerned about her mental and emotional well-being. He’d been upfront about his need to push their thresholds and at times, it would no doubt be hard for her to accept that she might like certain things she thought she shouldn’t.

“I’m talking about in general,” Crest said, clearing up any misunderstanding. “Are you having doubts about what is happening?”

Crest’s gut tightened when he saw those same worries he’d just mention flash in her eyes. Jessie was on a path of self-discovery and he’d known the risks when they’d started this journey. She’d been a part of him for so many years that taking this step to integrate her fully into his life could unequivocally be his destruction. He’d accepted that and there was no turning back now.