Ultimate Kill (Book 1 Ultimate CORE Trilogy) (CORE Series) (9 page)

She’d already told him too much. “It’s in the past and I want to keep it there. I haven’t been Lisa Monroe for eight years.”

He leaned back in the chair and looked to his half empty plate. “Who is he?” he repeated.

“Someone you can’t touch.”

His eyes quickly captured hers. “Why?”

“Let it go, Jake.” She stood, grabbed her plate and moved toward the sink. “I have.”

His chair scraped against the tile. In seconds, he gripped her arm and spun her away from the sink. “Bullshit.”

“Think what you want. I don’t care.”

“That’s the problem. I do care,” he said, his voice still harsh, but his eyes softening. “And I can’t believe that you’d willing allow yourself to be bullied into being someone else, instead of fighting. Honestly, I can’t believe your parents went along with it.” He tightened his hold. “Are your parents really deceased? Did they know your plans?”

Tears filled her eyes as her mom and dad’s faces swept through her mind. If only Jake knew the half of it. After she’d been attacked at her apartment, both she and Thomas had tried to talk their parents into changing their identities, too. Her mom and dad wouldn’t hear of it. They were both in their late fifties, were zeroing in on retirement, had a ton of friends and refused to give up their lives. Although they were terrified on her behalf and wanted her safe, they’d wanted to go through the legal channels to end the stalking. Only her mom wound up dead in a car accident and her dad passed away two weeks later of a heart attack. But their deaths hadn’t been accidental or natural. They’d been murdered.
He
had contacted her, showed up at both funerals and had made it crystal clear that if she didn’t come to him, everyone she loved would end up like her parents. Dead.
 

“Yes,” she said on a sob, resenting Jake for reopening old wounds, the past, her mistakes, her regrets and guilt. “They knew, but died before I went through the process. Satisfied?”

Jake tried to reign in his hatred and rage for the asshole who had forced Naomi to change her identity and life. He pulled her closer and caught one of her tears with his thumb. “No.” God, he was a dick. He hated himself for making her cry, but he’d come here to put the past to rest and had needed answers. He’d spent three years loving a woman who had been nothing but a lie, and then the next five years pining over her.
 

She jerked her head away and her arm free. “Too bad. If you’re looking for an apology, then I’m sorry I lied to you about my name. I’m sorry for a lot of things. But enough. I’ve answered your questions, hopefully soothed your ego and—”

He crowded her against the counter, her earthy, flowery scent invading his senses and bringing back memories of last night, of the many nights he’d spent loving her body. “I’m not gonna lie. I was pissed you didn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth about your past. But my ego has nothing to do with it.”
 

“Now who’s throwing out a line of bullshit?”

“Damn it, Naomi, I loved you. I wanted to marry you, grow old together and make a bunch of kids. And
that’s
no bullshit.” When more tears spilled down her cheek, he pushed away and turned his back on her. He didn’t want to see her cry, didn’t want to be the cause, but she had to understand. “Turn it around. How would you feel in my position? Wouldn’t you want to know?”

He flinched when her hand touched his shoulder. “Yes,” she said, her voice raw, pained. “I would. But now that you do, what’s next?”

Running a hand through his hair, he shook his head while trying to come up with an answer. “Is this stalker the reason you left me?” he asked instead, hoping that was the case. Leaving him out of fear, he could handle. But if she’d left because of him, because she’d no longer loved or wanted to be with him…yeah, that would definitely be a blow to his ego.

“Please look at me,” she said.
 

When he turned and caught the pain, misery and love in her eyes, he wanted to forget the entire conversation and haul her against his chest. Hold her, kiss her, give her comfort. “You don’t have to answer me.” He touched her tearstained cheek. “I’m sorry I put you through this. I’ll leave if that’s what you want.”
 

Her lush lips tilted in a small smile. “I don’t want you to go. And you’re right. If our circumstances were turned around, I would want to know, too.” She stepped closer, her breasts brushing his chest. “Leaving you was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. But I had no choice.
He
didn’t give me any. I worried about him coming after me and you, so—”

“You left,” he said, the wasted years suddenly weighing heavily on his shoulders. All because of one man, and Naomi’s fear of him, they’d lost five years…their future.
 

“I’m sorry, Jake.” Her chin trembled and her eyes watered. “I loved you so much, I couldn’t bear to let anything happen to you. I worried if I told you about him, you’d get all macho and badass on me and go after him.”

He cupped her face. “I’m a big boy.”

Her grin filled his palms. “I remember how big you are.”

Half chuckling, he shook his head. She always had a way of trying to lighten the tension. And he was wound tight, filled with anger and bloodlust. He wanted her stalker dead and he’d find a way to make it happen. Fuck Ian’s cold case. He’d just given himself a new assignment. “Tell me who he is and I’ll put a stop—”

She kissed him hard and quick. Resting her forehead against his chest, she let out a sigh. “No. Please, let it go.” She raised her head. “Promise me.”

“I don’t like it, but…I promise.” Hell, she’d been lying to him the entire time they’d known each other, what was another lie? He smoothed her thick hair away from her face and held her head. “Five years is a long time. Maybe it’s time to stop running.”

Her eyes searched his. “I don’t know how.”

“You could start by not going at it alone.”

“The risk—”

“Is something I’m willing to take.”

She twined her arms around him and hugged him tight. Running his hands through her hair, he slid them down and held her against him. She’d carried this burden for a long time. Alone. But she didn’t have to deal with this on her own anymore. Given the chance, he would do anything to have her back in his life. When they’d been together, he’d loved her so damned much. During the years they’d been separated, he’d told himself he was over her, that the love he’d harbored for her hadn’t been as real as he’d once thought. Now that he held her again, he knew in his gut he’d been lying to himself. Naomi or Lisa, her name didn’t matter, had and always would be the only woman he’d love.
 

Although they’d squared away the past, they hadn’t settled the future. He’d pushed her enough today, and once he tracked down her stalker and took care of him, he’d push her again. Hopefully back into his life. For now…

“I have to be back in Chicago on Monday,” he said and tightened his hold on her. “Unless you’ve changed your mind, I want to spend the weekend with you.”

She let go of him and swiped at her face. “Does this mean you won’t be sleeping on the Rainbow Lodge’s lumpy bed?”

“That’s what I’m hoping.”

“Me too.” She grinned. “Um, I came up with some things we could do today.”

The stalker momentarily forgotten, his mind slid into the gutter. After tasting her lips last night, feeling her come around his fingers, he had a few ideas as to what they could do today, too. “Yeah? What are you thinking?” he asked and drifted his hands to her rear.

“I have fishing gear in the garage. I thought we’d head over to Harriett’s Bluff. We could rent canoes or kayaks, or fish from the floating dock. It’s also a good spot for shrimping or crabbing.” She ran her hands over his chest. “We can catch our dinner. Unless, of course, you have something else in mind.”

He loved fishing and hadn’t had the chance since moving to Chicago. Although he’d rather strip Naomi naked, spending the day with her, talking and catching up was almost just as appealing. Almost.
 

“I had a few things in mind,” he said and squeezed her ass for emphasis. “But I like your idea. Fresh fish for dinner sounds good to me.”

She grinned and relaxed in his arms. “Excellent. Maybe later this evening you could show me what you had in mind.”

He tilted her chin, grazed his lips against hers, then sank in and gave her a long, leisurely kiss. Although aroused and wanting more, he released her mouth, and pressed her against his erection. “We have five years to catch up on. I plan on showing you all night long.”
 

Chapter 4

HARRISON’S SKIN PRICKLED with dread. At the same time, his stomach balled with a potent mixture of excitement and anxiety. He sprang from the chair and moved the motel curtain a fraction of an inch. Then watched as Vlad looked both ways, before crossing the busy intersection toward the convenience store.
 

Now or never
.

He rushed back to the small table and opened the laptop. He quickly glanced at the alarm clock setting on the nightstand and noted the time. Vlad would only be gone for five, maybe seven minutes. For what he had to accomplish, he needed every single second.
 

Heart racing, he moved his fingers across the keyboard and opened the system file that controlled the security devices the Columbian and Mickey had been planting across the country. He quickly logged on to the Internet, used a code he’d created to make his actions untraceable, should his employer do a little exploring into the system, and accessed his Cloud service.
 

Drumming his fingers on the table, his leg jerking in time as he glanced at the clock again, he waited for the files he’d placed within his Cloud to appear on the screen. “Hell, yeah,” he whispered when several programs emerged. He quickly accessed the one he knew he’d have time to install. After entering his encrypted password, and the program showed up, he attached it to the laptop’s system files.

Eyes on the clock, then again on the screen, he waited. And waited.

He’d gone to prison for hacking into a bank and shifting money from customer accounts to the one he’d set up for him and Mickey. While the Norfolk PD had confiscated his computer and all of his files, they hadn’t been able to find the Cloud he’d set up prior to his arrest. His Cloud account held programs he’d created. Some were quite brilliant and would likely benefit any company looking for a strong deterrent from hackers, malware and viruses. Others were exactly what those companies would fear. The program he was currently downloading wouldn’t give the laptop a virus—he just didn’t have the time to upload it and still cover his tracks—but it would serve as insurance. The program, which he called Martha, after the pet hamster in his fifth grade class, would create a digital footprint that would identify domain names and networks associated to the company he’d been hired by, and access the company’s network. While he hadn’t looked at the program in years, and he’d likely need to make a couple of quick adjustments, once finished, the program should be able to scan the company’s operating system and extract valid user accounts. From there, the data filtered should show encrypted passwords, erase his current activities and create backdoors. Although Harrison doubted he’d have another opportunity like the one he had right now, should he find himself alone with the laptop again, he
could
easily gain privileged access and return to the compromised system.
 

He looked to the clock again. Three minutes had passed. He glanced at the screen. Eighty percent complete. Jaw clenched, he rushed to the window. With no sign of Vlad, he went back to the table.
 

Eighty-five percent
.
 

If everything went to plan, anyone who found the devices Santiago and Mickey had been planting, could, if they knew what they were doing, link back to the company’s main network. He’d ensure that the data transferred from the laptop to the devices was traceable. If the security devices were what he thought they were, his employer was going to go down. Big time.

Ninety percent.

“Come on, come on, come on,” he said with frustration and fear, then looked to the clock. Four minutes.

He still needed to run a quick check to ensure the program worked properly.
 

Ninety-eight percent
.

He glared at the clock. Five minutes. “Fuck me,” he muttered and ran a hand through his hair, then looked to the screen.

One hundred percent.

“Yes,” he hissed, quickly moved to the window and froze. Vlad exited the convenience store holding two Styrofoam cups. He set them on the ledge in front of the store’s window and drew out a pack of cigarettes. As Vlad tapped the pack against his palm, Harrison knew he only had a matter of seconds before he needed to shut down the laptop.

He dashed across the room. Not bothering to sit down, he hovered over the laptop, quickly scanned the program and made a few minor adjustments, then exited the system. After making sure he wiped away his Internet activity, he logged off and closed the laptop.

Mouth dry and a sheen of nervous sweat coating his face and neck, he headed into the bathroom just as the motel door opened. After splashing water on his face, he took a towel off the rack and left the bathroom, drying himself. “Did they have any donuts?” he asked and kept his eyes off the laptop. When Vlad had left to buy a pack of cigarettes, the laptop had been closed and setting on the center of the table. Just like it was now.