The Puppeteer (17 page)

“No shit? Folsom?” he said, as he walked toward them, leaving the younger men at the table, brows furrowed, trying to put pieces together. “Well, I'll be damned,” he added stepping close enough to shake Dani's hand as she introduced herself to the two.

“That him on the phone?” Fawkes asked. Dani nodded and handed the phone to him. He took it, stepped away and started talking trash with Ty.

“So what brings you to town?” Roddy asked, taking a seat across from her. “Last I heard, Fuller was working vice. Are you vice?”

“DEA,” Dani answered, the lie rolling easily off her tongue. “We're working on a case together.”

“Here in San Diego? That's a long way from Maine.”

“We have a suspect on the move, so they sent me,” Dani shrugged.

“Alone?”

Dani smiled at the disbelief in his voice and shook her head. “No, I've got backup from the local office. Not much, but enough. I don't think he's our guy but, hey, how could I turn down an opportunity for Mexican food and the chance to track down some of Ty's dirty little secrets? So, you got anything good on him?” she
asked, steering the conversation away from her assignment. Neither of them were fooled.

“Yeah, right. He was my lieutenant before he left, but I have no doubt he'll still come kick my ass if I tell you any of his exploits.”

“And he had a lot?” She knew Ty would tell her if she ever asked. He had told her about his team and some of his friends that night on the ledge—he'd even told her about that last bullet he took.

“Nice try, Agent Williamson,” Roddy smiled but refused to elaborate. “Why don't you tell us a little something about yourself instead? You and Ty a real thing? How long have you been together? Is it driving him crazy to have you out here without him at your back?”

“Maybe, not long, and yes, probably,” she said.

Roddy looked at her, then at Dan Fowler—or Fawkes, as Dani had already started to think of him—who had removed his sunglasses. Fawkes's eyes kept darting to her, even as he stayed focused on a conversation that had turned serious. Dani could see Roddy putting two and two together.

“I'd say that both the ‘maybe’ and the ‘yes’ are probably both ‘hell yeses,’” he offered.

“Maybe,” was all she said.

“Here,” Fawkes said, walking back toward them and handing her the phone. “He wants to talk to you.”

“I hope you've picked up
The Care and Feeding of a DEA Agent
,” she spoke after taking the phone back. “Because by some weird little twist of reality that occurred the minute I set foot in your SEAL-infested Mexican restaurant—which is good by the way—I now ‘belong to you.’ Even though I outrank you and I can probably outshoot you,” she added, knowing he would hear the smile in her voice.

Ty was silent for a long pause and then he chuckled. “Ah, Dani, in case you hadn't figured it out, you belonged to me long before you set foot in Mamarita's. Probably from the moment I saw you in that bar in Portland. And again, just in case you didn't know, I'm as much yours. Even if you haven't accepted it yet.”

Before Dani could respond to his blunt assessment of their new relationship, he continued. “So what are your plans for the rest of the weekend? Drew had a conversation with someone named Buster.
Says you're still the same ballbuster,” his voice was laced with amusement.

“Such a nice image, don't you think?” Dani replied. “I'm headed back to the hotel now. Tomorrow, Agent Gordon and I will do some scouting and then pick up the target when he arrives. She and I will be on day watch. I'll be on night watch with Agent Diamond, the agent with the now-busted balls, in case you were wondering.”

“And when are you going to sleep?” It wasn't actually a question, just Ty's way of looking out for her.

“Alicia, that's Agent Gordon, and I will be on from nine to seven. Diamond and I will be on from seven to midnight. Diamond and another agent, Buster is going to let me know who tomorrow, will be on from midnight until nine. Make you feel better,
Dad
?”

“Dear god, don't call me that, it makes me feel dirty,” Ty replied.

“Yeah, well, don't worry about me,” Dani protested. But it was halfhearted at best. Though the glare she turned on Roddy and Fawkes, who'd burst out laughing at her last comment, was genuine.

“Your friends aren't endearing themselves to me,” she said.

“Fawkes is going to walk you home,” Ty spoke.

“First of all, how do you know I walked, and second of all, no.”

“First all,” Ty mimicked. “Your hotel is less than a mile from the restaurant. You've been sitting down all day. I'd bet my pension you walked just to use your legs. And second, yes he is—whether you want him to or not—so smile and nod at the nice man.”

Dani glanced over at Fawkes. Standing there watching her—feet apart, arms crossed over his chest—he knew full well he was the topic of conversation.

“I could probably take him,” Dani said. Fawkes raised a single eyebrow at the statement. She reassessed him. “Okay, maybe not,” she conceded. “But, seeing as it's unlikely someone more skilled than me would attempt to attack me between here and the hotel, I think I should be okay on my own.”

“Hand to hand isn't the only way to ambush,” Ty pointed out.

“Last time I checked, SEALs weren't bullet proof either,” Dani snapped.

Ty took a deep breath, paused and then spoke. “Dani, please,” was all he said.

Dani bit her lip. The tone of Ty's voice was like a breeze clearing the fog and the clouds. They weren't talking about whether or not SEAL Fawkes would walk her home. They were talking about her letting Ty into her life—letting him care, letting him be a part of her.

She stood, knocking the chair back against the wall, and moved away from the watchful eyes of Fawkes and Roddy. She didn't harbor any doubts that moving ten feet away would make her conversation any more private. But she hoped, by turning her back on them, they would give her a measure of privacy.

“I'm sorry, Ty. This is all new to me,” she said. And it was. She had people in her life she'd let in, she'd let care, but she could count them on one hand and they were all related by blood or marriage. And in truth, Drew was the only one who she ever really let ‘take care’ of her. She hadn't been kidding when she'd told Ty that Drew was almost like a father figure to her. But what Ty wanted was different and they both knew it.

“I know, Ella,” he answered, using the name he'd whispered across her skin as they'd moved together in the dark of his bedroom.

He didn't push, he didn't demand or get angry. He didn't say another word as Dani stood staring out at the ocean. ‘I belong to you’ floated through her mind. How could he be so sure? Her breathing was shallow, her pulse erratic. It was her reaction to fear. Again. At least she knew what she was afraid of now—letting someone get close in a way she never had before. She'd turned and walked away from Ty the first time it had happened, just a few days ago in her hotel room. She could walk away again.

She swallowed. “Yeah, okay,” she said, almost to herself. But she knew Ty heard her when he let out a deep breath.

“I'll call you tomorrow?” he asked. He was giving her some space and time to absorb the decision she'd made.

“Yeah, sounds good,” she said, hanging up the phone.

“I find it a bit unusual meeting a DEA agent who thinks she can outshoot and out-spar a SEAL,” Fawkes commented when she returned to the table. His voice was light but his eyes were assessing her, as she had assessed him earlier. His insinuation—that she was more than a rank and file DEA agent—was accurate. There weren't
many DEA agents who would tangle with a SEAL and think they could win.

She glanced his way and blinded him with a smile. “Honey, there's a lot that's unusual about me.” She gave him a wink and walked away, okay with the fact that he would follow.

Chapter 13

“SO, TELL ME AGAIN
why we think this kid is the link between Eagle's Wing and a shitload of drugs?” Alicia Gordon asked from the passenger seat. Doubt laced her voice, but she never took her eyes from the high-powered glasses she had trained on Savendra's house several blocks away.

“I could but since we've gone over this six times already, I think I'll pass,” Dani said from her position behind the wheel.

“God, I'm being annoying aren't I?” Alicia acknowledged.

“Believe me, it's nothing I haven't done or said at leastas many times to my team director. He won't listen. Well, that's not really true. He listens, I think he even agrees, but he can't really run the investigation on my intuition. And wouldn't we all look stupid if it turned out the kid fooled us.”

“At least you'll see some action tonight when he meets his friends,” Alicia offered.

“Yeah, we'll get to go to the bowling alley,” Dani said. All of Savendra's friends had jobs—like good little college graduates. Savendra was the odd one out, so if he wanted to play with his friends, he had to play on their schedules.

“Yeah, well at least it will be cool,” Alicia pointed out as she tugged at her shirt trying to get some air flowing over her body.

“Wrong. Buster is putting two other agents inside. He wants me and Diamond in the van,” Dani countered.

Alicia laughed and Dani cast her a look. “I'm sorry,” she said. “I just can't get used to you calling the captain ‘Buster,’ though, I admit, he does kind of look like one,” she conceded with another smile.

“So, if it's not Savendra. Who do you think it is?” Alicia asked, turning serious. Dani kept her eyes on the street, debating how much to tell the other agent. She liked Alicia Gordon, and her instinct said to trust her, but Dani's training said not to. She decided to hell with training; she had a niggling sense Alicia might be able to help in some way.

“We've got another potential. His name is Sonny Carlyle. We refer to him as Sonny. Sonny and Savendra has a better ring than Carlyle and Savendra or Sonny and Joe.” Dani explained conversationally why they referred to one suspect by his first name and the other by his last.

“And you think Sonny is the man—or rather, boy, I take it?”

“I do,” Dani answered.

Alicia took her eyes away from the glasses and glanced at Dani. But before she could ask why, Dani's phone rang. Glancing at the screen and seeing Drew's name, she hopped out of the car and walked several feet away.

“Dani. We have some news on Keogh I wanted to pass on.” Drew spoke the moment she answered, also explaining why Ty wasn't calling. “The crate with the weapons was already in the hanger at the airport when Smythe's belongings were prepped for shipping.”

“So they were never at his house?” She walked a little further away.

“It's looking that way. Adam is searching for footage in the storage area to see if we can either figure out who dropped the crate, or at least a time frame of when it was dropped.”

“I would think the hanger would have twenty-four-hour security footage.” As she commented, Dani's gaze caught on a little girl riding a tricycle in a driveway, her mom watching from the porch.

“They do, but it's not reliable. As in, there are several key hours missing at interesting times.”

“So is Smythe still on our list?” It would make things a hell of a lot easier if they could strike the ambassador off the list of potential arms dealers.

“Despite the fact that we can't find any additional intel linking the two together, none of us like those missing hours so we're all leaning that way.”

“And the daughter? Nelly?”

“Her father is on the list because we can't find any reason to take him off, but Nelly is a different story. Given her background and behavior, if either Smythe is involved most of us here would place our bets on her.” Drew's voice fell flat.

“So, we're not out of the woods?” It would be better if it was Smythe's daughter that was involved, but it would still be an interesting negotiation between the intelligence organizations in the US and the UK.

Dani sighed and looked away from the little girl. The valley sprawled below her, bleeding into the ocean beyond. “I know I sound like a broken record, Drew, but we're missing something. There are too many pieces moving with too much precision. It's almost as if there is someone pulling strings somewhere, orchestrating the whole thing. How else can we account for a drug dealer and militia hooking up, or Getz getting into arms dealing?” Her voice trailed off.

Both she and Drew were silent for a long moment. She was conscious of the heat radiating up from the sidewalk, the sounds of birds and children's laughter, but her mind was mulling over what she had just said. It wasn't anything that had formed in her mind before she'd spoken. But now that she'd vocalized it, it felt right. There had to be someone manipulating the whole mess. Who and why was a whole other question.

Drew sighed. “I think you might be right on this. Which is fucked up. The last thing we need is one more player, but without a central person, someone calling all the shots and making the connections, there's no way this level of operation, with this many players, would get off the ground.”

Dani didn't answer, knowing Drew was figuring out next steps.

“Fuck,” he swore.

“You want me to come home?”

“No,” he said after a pause. “Stay there, do your thing. If someone is orchestrating this whole thing, we need to at least keep up the pretense of going along with it. I'll talk to Marmie and Adam. We'll have some changes to discuss when you get back.”