Shadow of Doubt (An SBG Novel Book 2) (34 page)

Cappy searched every face in the room. Expressions ranged from anxious (Wraith, Magician, Ted, Michelle) to pissed (Talon) to calculating (Isis) to blank-faced (Romeo, Grady).

“You can’t give up who you are and what you excel at for me,” Michelle whispered in his ear. “I won’t let you.”

“It could get rough,” he murmured, turning his back on the room.

“Like we haven’t faced rough before.”

Amazing. He ran his hand down her cheek. If the whole team wasn’t behind him, straining to hear every word, he’d show her just how much he appreciated her support, and find out exactly how sturdy the high-back chair really was. Hearing his real name rush past her lips again as she shattered around him was a sudden imperative.

Two red spots bloomed on her cheeks and she bit her bottom lip, obviously figuring out the directions of his thoughts. Her eyes turned smoky and she shot a quick look around his bicep.

Right. Not the time or place. He gave her a quick kiss and pivoted.

His pride swelled and he couldn’t help admiring the hardened warriors now on their feet in front of him. This was the second time in two days they humbled him. They believed in him so much they accepted his past without a qualm and now promised him he could have a future with them and Michelle.

“Resignation withdrawn,” he rumbled, rubbing his chest as the anvil parked in its center faded.

A collective sigh rippled across the room.

“Excellent,” the Senator snapped. “Tell me about your plan to draw the bastard out of hiding.”

And that’s that, I guess
. Good. “It’s simple really,” Cappy answered. “That asshole shot at me three times. Me. Not Michelle. First time in the ICU was a headshot, the second grazed my arm, and the third missed completely thanks to Wraith.” He scratched the first-aid tape Michelle had insisted on applying after their first round before she seduced him into the second . . . then third. It irritated his skin but left awesome memories.

“So you think this is personal,” Romeo surmised, tilting his head and seeming to weigh the evidence.

“At first, no,” Cappy answered slowly. “Colin’s murder threw me off but when I saw April’s body I realized the killer had a personal stake.” He flicked a glance at the Senator. The politician’s knuckles whitened against his hips. “Sorry, Senator, I’m not trying to be insensitive.”

Bob Harris tightened his jaw and motioned for Cappy to continue.

“The marks he induced were reminiscent of Michelle’s.”

Michelle sucked in a breath.

“He didn’t torture her.” Cappy gripped Michelle’s hand. “Just made it look similar. Then we discovered the pictures left in Michelle’s apartment. They were a statement. They came from the camera in my unit and captured us together. Taunting me that someone out there knows my weakness while ensuring Michelle remains a part of this whole fucked-up thing. Doesn’t get more personal than that.” He dropped Michelle’s hand and ran his palms over his hair. “But the killer’s directing his anger toward me. The flying bullets make his point hard to miss.”

“Okay.” Romeo canted his head. Cappy could see the man processing and working through the information. “If that’s true, what are you planning to do?”

Cappy pulled an old-style flip phone from his side cargo pocket. “I’m going to call the bastard on the cell we stole off Victor and set up a meeting.”

“Just like that?” Isis asked, her frown letting him know she wasn’t a fan of the forthright approach.

“Just like that,” Cappy repeated.

“If it is personal,” Romeo interjected, “then that may work, but what if he demands you bring Michelle? She’s a key factor in this too.”

“Then I abandon the plan and we come up with something else.”

***

Michelle’s entire body trembled but she tried to cover it when she placed a hand on Jeremy’s arm. “Hang on. You can’t abandon the plan because of me.”

“The hell I can’t,” Cappy retorted. “I’m not risking your safety.”

She straightened to maximize her height, but still only came to his shoulder. “I’m capable of making decisions for myself.” Heat flared over her cheeks. “I believe that’s
my
call to make, not yours.”

Cappy turned to face her. “Didn’t yesterday’s debacle at the hospital teach you anything?”

“Yeah, that the best-laid plans can get screwed up.” Michelle clenched her hands together to hide their shaking. She was absolutely petrified but knew if the killer accepted Cappy’s terms it would be the right thing to do.

Talon snorted. “You got that right.”

“Not helping, T,” Cappy ground through his teeth, then peered back at Michelle. “You’re not trained for this.”

“But you all are,” she shot back. “I have confidence in your skills.”

“Are you really arguing to put yourself in a bullet’s path? You need to stay here where it’s safe.”

“A bullet’s path?” She swallowed. “Uh, no, I don’t think that’s what I’m asking for. I’ll admit this scares the snot out of me but that’s not going to stop me from getting the man who tried to ruin my life and ultimately caused my father to be fighting for his in IGH.”

She needed to establish she wouldn’t be a pushover or a simpering damsel clamoring to do his bidding just because he got loud. Like she had done with the Senator, she needed to garner Jeremy’s respect by standing up to him. “I’m coming with you whether you like it or not.”

The look on his face was photo-worthy. She could only describe it as angry with a side of incredulousness and befuddlement.

“What about a compromise?” Grady asked. “She can come but stay in the SUV with Ted.”

***

Cappy opened his mouth, then closed it. Had she just turned the tables? He blinked. Her mouth was set and her eyes glowed with determination.

Holy shit. She had. He didn’t know whether to laugh or wring her neck for demanding to be put in harm’s way.

He turned to the room, grumbling, “Fine. She can ride along, but that’s it.”

Michelle’s eyes flattened and her mouth opened.

He plowed forward. “As for the logistics, the spot I’m thinking of is along Canal Walk in downtown Indy. Grady, since we know the killer won’t associate you with SBG, and you were never at the hospital, you’re going to be on the ground with me.”

“Us,” Michelle interjected.

Cappy scowled, but decided to continue the briefing instead of arguing. He’d duct tape her ass to the seat if he had to. “The city designed Canal Walk to be a walking or running path with touristy things to do at different intervals.”

Grady scratched his stomach. “I haven’t run in too many days. It’ll be good to get in some laps.”

“Ted, can you hook him up with some tech that’s not like ours?”

Ted lifted his head from the computer. “I don’t have much with me, but I can go old school. Make it look like he has headphones with a mic hanging low on the wire.”

“Perfect.” Cappy grinned. “Can you also record everything?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Romeo and Magician—”

Romeo held up a hand. “Before you assign us to anything, we need to fill you in on last night’s merriment.”

The dull ache behind his eyes grew more intense.

“SAC Bingham threw a royal hissy when he reviewed the security footage from the parking garage.”

Cappy sighed. “Are your aliases finally burned?”

“No,” the Senator replied. “When I got the call about the latest arrests—”

“Arrests?” Son of a bitch. He peered at Magician’s grim face and Romeo’s sheepish one.

“Yes,” Bob Harris confirmed. “I threw my own tantrum and made Bingham release these two and wipe it off their records.”

“Should I ask how?” Cappy rubbed his gut. Maybe he should start carrying antacids.

“Let’s just say Frank in the DoD has been avidly following the goings-on in this investigation, and has graciously allowed it to fall under their classified heading.”

Damn. The more they had to call on the Department of Defense, the worse it showed that SBG couldn’t handle their Black Ops contracts.

“Thank you, Senator,” Cappy replied, worried about the new wrinkle. “Can we at least get the agencies’ cooperation to have the area free from interference?”

“We’ll do our best to help with that while working our zone,” Magician answered.

“Good.” Cappy adjusted his side holster and asked, “Do we have an extra Kevlar vest with us? Michelle may be in the Suburban but I don’t trust the bastard to not stumble on her and take a shot.”

“Yeah,” Ted answered. “I put it in my luggage with the one Grady and Wraith gave me.”

“Excellent work,” Cappy enthused, and the genius ducked his head. “Everyone, load up. I want to make the call near that spot. I don’t know where he’s stationed so I’m not taking a chance he could get the jump on us.”

Griffin prowled his hotel room. So far, he hadn’t come up with anything substantial to draw Cappy and Michelle out.

He had sat in the Cerise’s first-floor atrium area last night and caught bits of conversations as the agents and Marshals strode past. Seemed as if his evidence to frame Michelle was slowly falling apart. Her dress had been free of Colin’s blood and some tech wizard had reconstructed the champagne bottle and reported “anomalies.” Griffin had been too hasty when he snatched her fingerprints off the bottom half and managed to fuck it up by adding two forefingers.

He snorted. Bet the tech had a ball with that one.

It didn’t matter. The lost money—thousands, actually—to buy the grand-opening tickets, then sending a set to Colin’s friend implying that Ardent’s management wanted the Senator’s son present, then ensuring Michelle attended the same event with her coworker, had only been to set the stage.

The whole point of framing Michelle was to turn her life upside down like his had been and draw Cappy here. Mission accomplished. He just needed to complete the job and finish them off.

His cell phone resting on the nightstand rang and vibrated. He stopped pacing and frowned.

“Victor, I’m not going after a gang member.”

Second ring, vibration.

He marched to the phone and stared at the display. What the hell? Victor’s number scrolled across the screen.

My phone’s been compromised.
Victor’s words crossed his mind and the memory of the Senator blaring in his ear right after he killed the man’s wife.

Malone. Had to be.

Third ring, vibration.

“Well. Well. Well. This should be interesting
.
”

He cracked his neck from left to right and answered the phone but didn’t say a word.

“I’m thinking playing cat and mouse with me is Victor’s game,”
Cappy stated by way of greeting after a few beats of silence. His chain-saw voice was unmistakable and one he’d never forget.

“Not really satisfying, is it? Let’s cut the bullshit and meet once and for all.”

Griffin racked his brain. How could he manipulate this development to his favor? Bastard was right: He didn’t want to play Victor’s game anymore. He wanted Cappy to suffer as much as possible. How, he hadn’t decided yet.
Don’t give in too quickly.
He didn’t want to come off overeager.

After a sufficient pause, he sneered, “So I can waltz into an ambush? No thanks.”

“I’m going to make this easy for you. I’m going to be sitting near the waterfall staring at the pedestrian bridge on the Canal Walk near Ohio Street in one hour. My team is with me right now so you know they’re not out there waiting to put a bullet in your head.
Delta, sound off.”

“Wraith.”

“Romeo.”

“Magician.”

“Talon.”

Each operative said their name.

Griffin could see the possibilities of Cappy’s throwing the gauntlet. “What’s to stop me from putting a bullet in
your
head?”

“Nothing,”
Malone retorted.
“But I don’t think you will. You have something you want to say to me, and I’m curious enough to risk it.”

Asshole. True, he did want Malone to know he still lived, but to be that brazen about it rankled.

“Bring Michelle and make it thirty minutes.”

“No. She stays out of this.”

“Then I guess we continue to play the game.”

Griffin hung up and tapped the device against his chin. He held up his prosthetic and closed one eye, squinting at the TV through the hole in his palm.

Malone may think he was slick with his wording, but Griffin hadn’t missed the way the operative mentioned everything in the present tense. The man never promised the team wouldn’t set up the minute they hung up the phone.

He’d have to be on the lookout for Wraith. Had she gotten lucky or was she really as good as the rumors said?

“Zones now, people,” Cappy barked, jumping out the SUV. “Ted, you recording?”

“Uh,” the genius said, tapping on his tablet from the middle bench seat. “I am now. Can everyone say something?”

As if scripted they all repeated, “Something.”

“Oh, ha ha.” Ted jabbed at the keyboard’s buttons. “Whatever. Everyone’s comms showed up in the feed . . . except Michelle’s. Can you try again?”

Cappy froze adjusting the Velcro on his Kevlar vest hidden underneath his Indy 500 sweatshirt. “Excuse me? She doesn’t need a mic.”

“I’m off to work in a few laps and get the lay of the land.” Grady waved, putting his “headphones” on and disappearing down the steps to enter the Canal Walk area.

Talon and Isis slid from the SUV, and in a twist rarely executed, Talon had donned a business suit. Cappy figured if the assassin was Victor’s, then he had probably studied the team’s usual dynamic with blending in and covering an area.

Talon adjusted his tie and Cappy had to admit his operative could clean up nicely when he wanted to. Of course, the bruising on his face detracted from the overall image, but if Talon didn’t open his mouth, he’d fool everyone into thinking he was the perfect catch. Isis had already showed up in a lovely dress, so she got to stay as-is. With the South and East zones consisting of government buildings, they couldn’t exactly slum it like the rest of them.

Isis slinked her arm through Talon’s, rubbing her body against him as if she planned to whisk him to a hotel instead of indulging in a walk. Talon’s emerald eyes hardened and Cappy swore he heard a crack emanate from the man’s locked jaw. Talon pushed out with his elbow, forcing some space between them, and muttered something about “biting off the heads of her mates,” before he stiffly strolled away with her.

Wraith and Magician had been dropped off when the team first arrived to cover the West and Southwest zones.

“Uh.” Romeo hopped out of the driver’s seat. “I’m not needed for this, so I’m heading for the North side.” He gave them a two-fingered salute and ambled toward the steps.

Romeo and Magician also had a nice change of pace. They got to trade in their suits for leisure wear. Romeo stuck with a loose-fitting matching nylon ensemble, but Magician was going to cause more than a few sprained necks. A pair of black spandex pants and fitted zip-up jacket covered her athletic form.

“Omph.”
Riiiiipppppp.

Cappy whirled to see Michelle practicing some sort of contortionist move involving the upper half of her body twisting to face backward. She fiddled with the Velcro on the Kevlar vest strapped over her black turtleneck, played with a wire, then straightened and adjusted her earpiece. “Can you read me now?”

Ted studied his screen. “Yep.”

“Cord was caught,” she stated by way of explanation.

The Senator shifted on the seat beside Ted and peered at the tablet. “This will be encrypted, right?”

“Absolutely,” Ted answered, still typing. “No one will be able to steal the transmission or listen unless I want them to.”

Michelle clomped on the step running beneath the back doors and balanced against Cappy’s shoulder.

“What are you doing?” he asked, trying to stop her from—

Damn. Her shoes hit the pavement.

She pivoted and bent forward, stretching to reach across the first bench. His eyes instantly glommed onto her ass. The way it spread and wiggled at just the perfect angle for him to—

Oh dear God. Never in the history of assignments had he sported so many hard-ons than this one.

She sprang up and clutched her gray sweatshirt.

“Michelle.” Cappy took the material from her hands and clicked his mic off. “Listen to me. I know you think going with me is going to help, but it’s not. I refuse to risk you.”

“He said he wouldn’t show if I wasn’t there.” Michelle tried to take her sweatshirt back.

“If that’s the case, then we move to a new plan. Your safety is the priority.”

“I’ve already told you that’s my call to make,” her voice hardened and he could see the frustration in her eyes.

“Actually, it’s mine,” Cappy replied with a touch of steel. “As leader of this mission, it’s my job to assign who goes into the field and who stays back as I see fit.”

Her entire body stiffened.

“I know I’m going to pay for this, but I’m no longer talking to you as Jeremy. Listen to me as Cappy, CO of Delta Squad. This moment is not about us as a couple but about the assignment. I’m telling you to stay in the truck with Ted and the Senator.”

Her chin lifted so high, she was in jeopardy of breaking her neck. The set of her jaw spelled so much trouble for him later. Fuck.

He kept his expression blank and continued to hold her stare, letting her know without words he wasn’t backing down.

She snatched her sweatshirt out of his hands and climbed back inside without a word.

Ted’s face was bright red and he resolutely stared at his computer. The Senator’s expression bore something akin to sympathy, but before Cappy could see more, the door slammed closed in his face.

Oh yeah. He just jumped to
numero uno
on her shit list.

Game face, Cappy. Worry about that later if you live through this.
He breathed in and forced his mind to clear. To catch this asshole he needed to be attuned to every detail and study every face, not worry about Michelle’s hurt feelings.

He flicked his mic back on and waited until a couple passed by, then fell into step behind them. As if he was out for some fresh air, he casually wandered toward the stairs to the Canal Walk.

“Everyone in position?” Cappy asked, his gaze roving, memorizing every person he saw as he walked down the steps.

“Checks,”
and clicks let him know they were set up and ready to roll.

When he reached the bottom of the steps, he scanned the entire area. To his left above, cars streamed by on Ohio Street. The canal, which only spanned anywhere from about twenty to forty feet in width meandered in front of him and continued to cut through miles of downtown. Overlarge sidewalks framed the waterway and allowed people to pass underneath the busy roads that crossed over the canal.

The sun beat down on his head, making him wish he didn’t have to wear a turtleneck, Kevlar, and a sweatshirt. He’d be sweating in no time.

About fifty feet to his right, a quaint footbridge made out of cement and wrought iron with ornamentation carved into its side arched over the water. Trees and bushes lined the sidewalk at just the right intervals to have the scene look straight out of a painting. On the other side of the bridge was the wall of mini waterfalls he planned to wait beside. He chose the spot for a number of reasons. The area was the bottom corner of a jagged L the canal formed, giving him the vantage point of being able to see large portions in both directions. The rushing “falls” themselves were only about ten feet high and the area above them, on street level, was an open grassy promenade outside one of the government buildings. Less chance the killer could approach him from behind without being spotted by Isis or Talon. The only other entrance to the canal within that vicinity was directly from the government building.

It was about as secluded in the open touristy spot as Cappy could manage.

Grady jogged by on the other side of the canal, close to the falls.
“It’s a little over a three mile jog,”
he reported, barely winded.
“I should be able to make quite a few laps with no problem.”

“Keep ’em slow if you can,” Cappy replied, not looking at his newest operative. “He’s probably not going to show on time.”

“Check.”

Cappy glanced at his watch. 10:39 a.m. He still had about twenty minutes before the supposed deadline. No sense in coming off too anxious and putting a target on his head before he had to. To minimize his exposure he strode to a spot just underneath Ohio Street and leaned his back against the cement. The shade of the bridge would help keep him cool while still providing him with a full view of the waterfalls.

“Raymond.”
Michelle’s voice filtered into his earpiece.
“Or should I say Romeo. I can’t just sit here, and I don’t want to talk to Cappy
right now. I’m told you like romance novels.”

A bark of laughter blasted in his ear.
“Unrepentantly guilty. Love ’em.”

“Let’s talk books.”

Cappy bowed his head. He was
really
going to piss her off now. “Actually—” He had to pause and wait for a female runner who was doing her best to change her shape to something other than round, “The channel needs to remain clear. When we’re in the field we keep the chatter to a minimum and focused on the assignment.”

Dead silence greeted him. Yeah, he’d be lucky if she didn’t remove his balls tonight when he slept.