Embraced by Fire (13 page)

“Oh.” Derek didn’t say more. They all knew Adrian wasn’t in charge this time, Neil was.

“We have our own cars. We’re adaptable and well trained, not to mention damn good at our jobs. We’ll catch these guys. ” Adrian wasn’t happy either, but he was trying to keep the peace.

“We shouldn’t be using our private vehicles on an opp.” The growl was still present in Derek’s voice.

“How are we going to find him now?” Ryu didn’t want to talk about Neil, and if this conversation went any further it was unavoidable.

Spock pointed at his computer. “Without the man himself, we follow the data. We did backgrounds on everyone at FA. Now we know it’s Johnny, we go deeper. Track known associates; follow his money, property, etcetera. You know the drill.”

“And you go back to FA, get anything and everything you can there. We need to know if anyone else is involved,” Adrian added. “But first, give us a run down of what happened tonight.”

Ryu’s stomach tensed. His part in tonight’s comedy of errors coming into sharp focus, he’d broken his cover. What had he been thinking? He should have shuffled Kait out of there as fast as possible then gone back for a look. Instead, he’d taken her over and let her watch as he dismantled Johnny’s work. He’d practically invited her to confront him about his identity. He didn’t want to tell Adrian what he’d done, because he knew Adrian would ask why. Heck, he was still asking himself why.

Unwilling to start with his own stupidity, Ryu quickly explained seeing Johnny sneak out and following him. “He was quick and prepared. He knew exactly where he was going and he’d hidden his gear in the bag he uses for his DJ equipment.” Ryu leaned down and opened his own bag. “I removed this from the wall.”

Adrian leaned forward in his seat, his eyes lighting up when Ryu handed over the black box he’d removed from behind the Ethernet port.

“So, this is how they’ve been doing it.” Adrian looked over the box briefly then handed the device to Spock. “What do you think?”

Spock took his time, turning it carefully between his fingers. “Expensive, compact. I’ve got some ideas, but I’ll have to take it apart before I can give you the full picture.”

“As fast as you can.” Adrian leaned back and tapped his finger on his thigh, thinking things through. Then he turned back to Ryu. “What else?”

Ryu cleared his throat, crunch time. “There’s something else you should know…”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed. “Am I going to like it?”

“I doubt it.” Ryu stared at his shoes. “Kait found out.”

“Found out what exactly?” Adrian’s finger paused its tapping.

“Pretty much everything. That I’m undercover, that Johnny is involved.”

“And how did she find out?”

Ryu swallowed. “She followed Johnny and saw him place the device. He almost caught her. I pulled her aside and hid her in the bathroom.” This would be so much easier if it was anyone but Adrian. “Then she saw me pull the device out the wall. After seeing all that she naturally had questions…I answered them.” He kept his eyes fixed on the floor.

“Excuse me? She asked, so you told her? Explain this to me in a way that doesn’t make me want to take to you with teeth and claws.”

Ryu’s gaze flicked up and his shoulders twitched. Dragons never turned belly up in submission but for the first time in his life he was tempted.

“Shit, man, what were you thinking?” Derek’s thick brows rammed together above his eyes.

Spock’s eyes widened fractionally. “I’m not sure he was thinking.”

Ryu forced his voice not to betray his turmoil. “She’s not involved but she’s close to Johnny. If she knows what’s happening she can help.”

Adrian sighed and Ryu looked up to see him close his eyes.

An apology glued his throat shut. He wanted to say the words but he couldn’t force them out because he wasn’t sorry. Well, that wasn’t totally true. He was sorry he’d disappointed Adrian, but not sorry Kait knew the truth. Now he could only pray he hadn’t destroyed Adrian’s faith in him. He didn’t know what he would do if the other man kicked him off the team.

His freedom meant everything to him, but somehow that freedom wasn’t diminished by working with Adrian and the others. If anything it allowed him more space. He could be himself without fear.

Adrian’s eyes opened. “What’s done is done. Your instincts are usually dead on and you’ve never done anything like this before. I trust you, but I damn well hope you know what you’re doing.”

“So do I.” Ryu hadn’t meant to say the words out loud, but when Adrian shot him a hard look he knew the other man had heard.

Before he could say anything else the van door slid open and Delilah poked her head in. “I couldn’t find him. Spock, can we access the traffic cams? We know he was on Flair Street, and we know what time. Maybe we can use the cameras to track him.” She looked at Spock hopefully.

“We can try.” Spock looked thoughtful as he opened his laptop. “If we’re lucky and he gets picked up, we might even get a plate number for Razor or one of his boys.”

“I’m not sure that kind of luck is smiling on us tonight.” She finally spotted Ryu. “Oh, hi Mac.”

“Hi, Delilah. I’m off.” Ryu climbed out of the van.

“Hey, I want to know tonight’s details,” Delilah called after him as he headed down the street.

“Ask the others,” Ryu called back.

He couldn’t believe how easily Adrian let him off the hook. The feeling of belonging was overwhelming. He reached his car and collapsed in the seat, his knees weak. The question plaguing him was whether Adrian’s trust was deserved. Ryu knew he’d taken a risk. He could trust Kait…couldn’t he?

Chapter 14

Kait pulled her car to a stop in her driveway. Taking a slow breath she gathered the strength to get out. The door weighed a tonne. She slipped back into her seat as a gust of wind caught it. She shook her head, trying to wake up. Ridiculous. The wind wasn’t that strong. Any other day she wouldn’t even have noticed the breeze, tonight it pulled the door out of her hand. With careful movements she levered herself out of the car, and gathered up her bag. Her body felt like it had played hard with a road-grader and lost.

On the drive home the full impact of the night had hit her. Now, mind and body, she felt done in. Unlocking her front door took a couple of tries. Her hand seemed to belong to someone else. Finally, she got inside and hung her handbag on its hook by the door then flicked on the lights. A shadow darted in the corner of her eye.

“Sookie, if I wasn’t so exhausted you’d have startled me.” She bent and stroked the orange bundle of fur.

Sookie meowed softly in apology.

“You wouldn’t believe the night I’ve had,” she muttered to the cat as she stood.

Sookie padded quietly after her as she made her way across the open-plan living-dining area to the kitchen, and put on the kettle. She filled Sookie’s water bowl while she waited for the kettle to boil. She wasn’t sure which she wanted more right now, sleep or the chance to think things through.

Her head ached. Undoing her hair, she let it fall around her shoulders. It didn’t bring the relief she’d hoped. The kettle flicked off. She ignored it. She wanted to think, but suspected that was going to be impossible with sleep already blurring her mind.

Giving Sookie a last pat she made her way into the bedroom, got changed and collapsed into bed. Curling on her side, she closed her eyes and sighed with relief. In bed at last. The sheets twitched as Sookie jumped up to join her. Soon the cat’s warm, comforting body snuggled at her feet.

She stared at the wall. Moments ago she was so tired she could hardly move, now she couldn’t settle. She couldn’t even keep her eyes closed. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling.

As if it had merely been waiting for a moment of peace, her mind began replaying the evening. From her ducking behind the plant and seeing Johnny go upstairs, to Ryu pressing her against the wall, to walking back into the main room knowing nothing would be the same.

She threw an arm over her eyes, shutting out the sliver of moonlight slicing between the curtains. Her ordinary world had turned upside-down in the space of an evening. She wasn’t sure who made her feel more disorientated, Johnny or Ryu.

She remembered Ryu fingers closing around her arm. He’d caught up with her before she left and asked her to keep his identity secret. She’d reluctantly agreed. After all she couldn’t exactly say
no
to him, he was some kind of government agent. Goodness knows what would happen to her if she started blabbing that sort of thing around. The boy she’d known at school had changed more than she thought.

She recalled the sizzle of excitement she’d felt as a teenager watching him perform. He’d been young, but underneath there had been hints of the man he’d one day become. The firmness of his jaw, the piercing strength of his copper gaze. Her stomach had always pinched when she saw him. But even all those years ago it wasn’t just her youthful crush that made her want to watch him. It was the scent of smoke in the air, the danger of the dancing flames, and the risks he took with his tricks.

The atmosphere, along with his natural showmanship, made her drag her friends along whenever she heard he was performing. She’d ooo’ed and aaah’ed along with everyone else, but she hadn’t just watched his tricks, or his body. She watched the power he held over the audience. The way they left their everyday lives for a few minutes and went somewhere magical. She’d wanted to be part of the magic.

It was the memory of Ryu’s shows that made her apply for a position at Fantasia Alive. It was the way she’d talked about wanting to create something special for an audience that got her the job. Ryu inspired her to get into this business, but he’d ended up in a place far different from those long ago street shows, for all he was still playing with fire.

She tugged off the sheet and rolled over again. Ryu had lied to her, out and out lied. More than that, he’d used her. She tucked her arms tight against her chest and squeezed her eyes closed. While she admired his skills and good looks, he’d utilized her position to get a job undercover. While she was enjoying his charm and the sizzle of the chemistry between them, he’d been investigating her as a potential criminal. While she had ethical debates with herself about whether she could justify getting into a personal relationship, he’d used her to spy on everyone she worked with.

She rolled onto her back, ignoring Sookie’s mew of protest. Ryu’d played on the fact they knew each other at school. She recalled his feigned surprise during their interview.

She dropped her voice abnormally low and whispered into the darkness, “Did you say your name was Kait?”

She snorted. He must have known exactly who she was. He’d cruised through the interview because she hadn’t needed to ask hundreds of questions about his work experience. She’d seen him perform firsthand. Even Victor had noticed she hadn’t done her usual thorough job. Although, undoubtedly, if she’d bothered looking she’d have found a perfectly acceptable fake background created for him. At least she was pretty sure she would have. That’s the sort of thing secret agencies did in books and movies so spies wouldn’t get caught. His team probably laughed at how easy the job was this time. They didn’t have to change much, just make sure there was no mention of his current employer.

The government.

Ryu was a spy.

The realisation finally sank in.

She’d know it intellectually ever since he admitted the truth, but knowing and
knowing
were two different things. He said in his interview he’d joined the military. That must have been the truth given what he was doing now.

He must be very good at what he did to get pulled out of the regular military to do secret stuff. Her lips curled. Secret stuff sounded a bit vague but she couldn’t think of anything better. This whole situation was completely outside her experience and dealing with it was…difficult.

She rolled onto her side again, curling into a loose ball. Why had he told her the truth? He could have come up with some kind of lie to throw her off the trail, but he’d trusted her with the truth. She nibbled her lip as she thought over all the things he’d said about himself since she’d first seen him standing outside Fantasia Alive.

Although she couldn’t be sure, it seemed as if he’d told the truth wherever he could. As if he didn’t want to lie to her. Her teeth released her lip. It was nice to know he hadn’t wanted to mislead her more than necessary. Nice, but it didn’t change the fact he had. Knowing he had reasons, good reasons, didn’t make her feel any less manipulated.

How could she trust him after this? He’d lied to her, and he’d used her. Except…it made sense for him to go undercover. The rational part of her brain pushed at her instinctive emotional response. Darn it, it did make sense.

She might not like what he’d done, but she understood it. In his position she might have done the same thing. Not that she would ever be in his position. If the criminals knew the government was on to them, they would have shut the operation down before they could be caught. Ryu was on the side of justice.

She couldn’t dismiss what he did because she felt hurt. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to ease the pressure behind her eyes. Nothing about this was personal. They hadn’t even seen each other since school. He had no idea how she’d felt about him then, nor how she felt about him now.

She didn’t know what his life had been like since he left school, but he was a good man. At least all evidence suggested he was good. He risked his life to solve crimes and catch bad guys. The truth was, he was a hero.

The thought made the inside of her eyelids feel itchy. He was hero, a real life hero. Heroes might glance at girls like her, but their eyes never lingered. They looked for beautiful women of action. Women who could hold their own in a world of espionage with the ease they held a gun. She wasn’t that kind of woman.

She was ordinary.

She went to work everyday. Came home to her cat. Slept alone.

She winced, glad she’d never made a move on him, never let him know she was attracted to him. Her cheeks reddened in mortification as she imagined his response. He was sure to be polite, charming even, but a no, was a no, no matter how kindly it was spoken. She remembered the hard strength of his body as he pressed her against her wall, subduing her with alarming ease.