Stolen (2 page)

It was just now dark, a beautiful autumn evening, but Sean couldn’t enjoy any of it. He squeezed Lucy’s hand hard as they walked down the block.

“Sean—”

“Tell me you trust me, Luce.”

“You know I trust you.”

“I’m taking a security job in New York.”

“Is that why Duke’s so mad?”

“No. He believes something that isn’t true, and I’m not going to waste any more breath explaining.” The irony was that Sean had
wanted
Duke to know he was working with his old hacker buddy Colton Thayer. It was all staged, at least on Sean’s part.

Duke, though, hadn’t been acting. His brother had flown three thousand miles to confront Sean in person. And that made everything much, much harder. Because the lack of trust, the blatant disapproval, couldn’t be faked face-to-face. Sean would never forget the contempt Duke showed for him. “He’s never trusted me.”

“That’s not true.”

“I wish I were wrong.”

“Is this job—permanent?” Lucy’s voice hitched, and Sean realized he’d laid this all on her abruptly, nothing like he’d wanted. He’d planned to tell Lucy tonight over a romantic dinner. Patrick was leaving on a late flight to Chicago for an assignment and wouldn’t be back until Sunday; they’d have the house all to themselves.

He shook his head. “A few weeks. A month, maybe.” He stopped at the corner and touched her face. “I’ll be done long before you graduate.”

“Who are you working for?”

This was where it was going to get sticky. He’d promised never to lie to her, and he wasn’t going to start now. “I can’t share any details. It’s a strict confidentiality agreement. But,” he said quickly, “when I’m done, I’ll tell you about it, okay?” He breathed a bit easier. None of that was a lie. He would tell her. He hoped she’d forgive him for keeping her in the dark.

She smiled, but it was unsteady. “We’ve never seriously talked about what’s going to happen when I graduate—”

“That’s still a couple months away.” He wanted to tell her he’d follow her wherever she went, but right now he couldn’t. He didn’t know if he’d survive the coming weeks. He didn’t know what would happen with RCK, or Duke, or his life. The future was uncertain, and he just needed to get through the next month. “Let me finish this job, Lucy, then we’ll make plans.”

She nodded, but Sean wished he knew what she was really thinking. She trusted him, and that trust and love were going to help him more than she’d ever know.

He kissed her, as if it would be the last time, though they had all night. “God, I love you, Princess.”

“I love you, too.” She smiled, but concern clouded her expression. She was trying hard not to show it, but Lucy was an open book, at least to him. “Happy birthday.”

“Didn’t we go camping last weekend for my birthday?”

She sighed dramatically. “We’re never going to be able to go on vacation, are we?”

Their camping trip in the Shenandoahs had been a complete bust because they’d ended up being drawn into the search for a missing child, only to discover a major criminal enterprise set up in the middle of nowhere.

“We’ve tried to plan a trip, and that ended up with you discovering a dead body,” Sean said. “Then we tried for spontaneity, and again … you discovered a dead body.” He kissed her on the nose. “Next time, we’ll lock ourselves in a hotel room and order out for room service.”

“You’d get bored with me.” But she smiled.

“Never.” Sean needed Lucy now more than ever. “Good thing I don’t leave for New York until Monday.” He frowned. “I might not be very good company right now.”

He desperately needed to get out of this depression after his fight with Duke. Sean had to keep this night light and fun. Force himself to put the future aside. Lucy was perceptive, and he didn’t want her picking up on more than what he’d already told her.

“Dillon and Kate are out with friends,” Lucy said. “Instead of a restaurant, why don’t we go to their house? I’ll cook.”

His eyes widened in shock. “You cook?”

She hit him on the arm. “Don’t ever let my mother hear you say that.” She kissed him. “Tonight’s for you. No other people, no conversation. Trust
me
, Sean. Tonight is just for us.”

He glanced down the street at his town house. Duke was getting in his car. He wouldn’t be coming back.

Good-bye, Duke.

CHAPTER ONE

Present Day
Saturday

Theft came in all shapes and sizes, from grand to small, from violent to peaceful. For Sean Rogan, the most satisfying robbery was stealing from someone who was a criminal, because the victim would never report the break-in. It was also the most dangerous.

The safest theft, and almost as satisfying, was stealing information so the victim never knew they’d been targeted. This was the type of crime where Sean excelled and why his former mentor and friend Colton Thayer had for years wanted him to rejoin the group. It was why Sean had quit the family business. Now there was no turning back.

The target was the CEO of a pharmaceutical company, Pham-Bonner Medical Solutions. PBM was primarily a cancer research company, but they also had their fingers in many other medical pies. They created low-cost vaccines for common diseases, for example. And they had a small division that experimented with vaccines and cures for biological weapons, like anthrax and ricin.

A week before he quit RCK, Sean hacked into PBM to pull vaccine documentation because Colton believed they’d accidentally contaminated a shipment of vaccines with a bio-toxin and were working double time to cover it up. He had some circumstantial evidence pulled from news feeds and press releases, but Colton wanted to destroy the company because he blamed them for the death of his brother, Travis.

The problem was Colton couldn’t break through their network, and he had been reaching out to Sean to take the job. It was blatantly illegal, something Duke would never have approved even if it wasn’t at the behest of Colton, but the assignment gave Sean an in with Colton. A way to regain his trust.

What Sean found was far more worrisome than a cover-up that hadn’t actually resulted in any deaths. It appeared that PBM was not only researching cures for bio-toxins but also creating a bio-weapon themselves. They had a government contract to provide vaccines to low-income communities, but Sean could find no contract that gave them permission to experiment in biological weapons.

Unfortunately, there were only hints and no solid evidence or documentation accessible through their network. That meant Sean needed to go on-site.

The safest way to get on-site was to clone a badge. That’s what this exercise tonight was for. The only problem was that Sean didn’t think Colton’s philanthropic concern about a private company creating biological weapons was the only reason Colton wanted to get inside the building. Ten years ago, it would have been enough. Today, Sean knew that Colton was working for someone else. Someone whose identity Colton wouldn’t confide to Sean.

Sean took a long, slow breath as he straightened his bow tie. After tonight, there was no going back.

Skye Jansen walked up next to him and looked at their reflection in the hotel mirror, her dark lipstick glistening against her perfect, straight teeth. “You’re still gorgeous in a tux, Sean.”

He caught her eyes in the reflection. “Stop.”

She gave him a fake quizzical look, her chin tilting defiantly. There was no doubt in his mind that Skye knew exactly what she was doing, but she’d never admit it.

“Aren’t
you
uptight, sugar.”

He stepped away from Skye, not overly concerned about his appearance. The tux was a fail-safe—in case he was caught, it would be better if he appeared to be a guest at the museum charity event and not a thief. But he wouldn’t be caught. This was something he was particularly good at.

Correction: He wouldn’t be caught if everyone on his team did their job right.

This was the third crime Sean had committed in as many weeks, all in preparation for the big job at Pham-Bonner Medical. Sean hoped he’d learn exactly what Colton had planned before Thursday night’s job; otherwise he’d be going in blind. He was already getting nervous. He’d known Skye, Colton, and Hunter Nash since college, but two were new to Colton’s group and Sean didn’t trust either one of them. He’d been quietly checking into their backgrounds, but so far nothing stood out.

What really bothered Sean was that Colton had far too much money to spend on this project. The overall plan sounded like Colton, but the execution required access to a gold card. Colton had never been one for having big bucks. U.S. Senator Jonathan Paxton was the gold card—yet Sean’s friend hadn’t said anything about his benefactor. This greatly worried Sean.

For now, he needed to focus on the job, because one mistake would cost him his life—or his freedom. Sean valued both.

Skye took a step toward him and stroked her long fingers down his back. “Sean, honey—”

He turned around and was face-to-face with his ex-girlfriend. She was still beautiful, blond hair tight with wild curls that tumbled down her back. She’d maintained the lithe dancer’s body she’d cherished, and ten years had turned her even more confident and sexy. She didn’t flinch when he crowded her. Her green eyes darkened as she smiled seductively and put her hands on his chest, her red fingernails shining in the light. She leaned up to kiss him.

He sidestepped her, avoiding her lips, and walked across the hotel room.

Skye was his past. His long-ago past. Proximity didn’t change the fact that they had been over for ten years and he had no urge for round two.

“Oh, Sean,” Skye sighed dramatically. She smiled at her reflection and smoothed out her already-perfect makeup.

They were in the hotel next door to the museum where their target was attending a private charity event, and this was their best shot at getting to CEO Joyce Bonner. They’d considered her house, while she slept, but she had state-of-the-art security and dogs. They also didn’t know where she kept her badge at home—could be in her bedroom while she slept. Plus, her two children lived with her—one an adult, one a minor. The presence of other people made things sticky. Colton wasn’t violent; in none of their jobs in college, and none since from what Sean could deduce, had anyone been physically hurt.

Going after Bonner’s badge at the charity event had been Skye’s idea, and it was just like her—big and bold. And smart.

“Sean, I hope you have your head in the game.”

“It’s always in the game,” he said. “I’m just not going to take your crap anymore.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, baby, you are so wrong about me.”

Hardly.

Skye’s phone vibrated on the dresser. She picked it up and responded to the text. “I’m on, babe. Don’t be late.”

He didn’t say anything but watched her swish out in her red beaded dress. He checked the time. He had twenty minutes before he had to be in place. The hotel had a museum access hall open during regular hours but closed during evening events. He’d determined that route was the easiest to breach.

He took out his cell phone and called Lucy.

“Hello,” he said when she answered.

“Sean, hold on.” He heard her excuse herself, the clink of dishes and utensils, the hum of voices in the background. Dinner at the FBI Academy’s cafeteria.

A moment later, Lucy said, “It’s good to hear your voice.”

“You stole my line. Sorry to interrupt dinner.”

“I’m done. Just chatting.”

“How’s everything?”

“Good. We’re past the mid-point. Nine more weeks. It feels surreal.”

“You’re going to graduate top of your class.”

She laughed, a deep and genuine tone that Sean loved to hear, especially when he was with her. He hadn’t seen her in three weeks, since the weekend before he moved to New York. He missed her more than he could say.

“I’m sorry I had to cancel our plans this weekend.” He’d hoped to get away to see her—he needed the connection to his real life, to the life he hoped to regain when this was over. But now that Colton had set the schedule for the week, Sean wouldn’t be able to leave.

“You’re busy, and it gives me more time to study. We have a PT test on Tuesday and the big legal test on Wednesday. That’s the one I’m worried about.”

“You’ll ace it.”

“I wish I had your confidence. What about you? Are you enjoying New York or just working?”

“Mostly working.”

“Have you seen Suzanne?”

He’d avoided FBI Special Agent Suzanne Madeaux for the three weeks he’d been in Manhattan. He and Lucy had met Suzanne last February when he was looking for his runaway niece and tracked her to New York. Since, he, Lucy, and Suzanne had become friends, and Lucy had told Suzanne that Sean had taken a job in New York. Twice Suzanne called him to meet for a beer. Sean had ignored the first call, then told her the second time he was swamped with work. She’d asked questions; he evaded and could tell she was irritated. As long as she was only irritated and not suspicious, Sean thought.