The Omega Team: Cyber Tracked: The Cobra Project (Kindle Worlds Novella) (IATO Series Book 4) (8 page)

He was jealous of ice cream cones. She’d never done this to any other man. She was experimenting, figuring out how to please him…answering to his response, focusing on what made him react to her touch. Hadn’t anyone ever paid attention to
his
needs before?

He certainly was an attentive lover or he had been with her the other night. He deserved as much in return. So she explored him until she knew each intimate nerve ending, the ones that excited him, the ones that pleasured him, and the ones that set him off like a holiday firecracker. Then she sat back on her knees and watched him try to recover.

“Oh, sweetheart, you are so going to be rewarded for all your hard work.”

“Oh, Cade, ’twas no trouble at all. The pleasure was all mine.” She put her hand between her legs and moaned.

“Jeez, woman, I’ve never met anyone like you. You have me hard as stone already just watching you play with yourself.”

“Good, then can I taste you again?”

He shook his head and stilled her hands. “My turn. Remember?”

Later, after he’d made good on his promise to reward her, he watched her sleep, wondering what made this woman tick. He wanted to wake her and ask, instead he looked, not touching her, but wanting to so badly his dick ached.

Somewhere during sex he’d crossed an imaginary line he’d never crossed before, and some wall he’d erected years ago came tumbling down. He wanted more than the sexual intimacy they’d shared before, more than their lovemaking. He longed to be inside her, body and soul. Making love with this woman was different from anything he’d ever experienced. Sex was sex. This felt so damn real it frightened him.

In spite of the situation, he felt lighthearted, like a weight had been lifted. The sentiment made him uncomfortable, because he wasn’t normally this euphoric after sex. Cade was almost giddy with emotion.

Stop being a sap.
He rolled over hoping his reaction to Rowan passed and figured once they were back to dealing with reality, he would be too. She rolled into him and wrapped a leg over his in her sleep. A small smile of satisfaction lifted her lips, and he wondered how much longer the flight would take.

Eindhoven, The Netherlands

As they arrived at her house, Cade was still thinking about sex, even after they’d copulated like bunnies in the plane on the way to the Netherlands.

Rowan stopped in her tracks in the kitchen. “I need to check the house out.”

He understood Rowan’s need for security after discovering the back door ajar. “Not alone.”

Especially now. Someone had entered her compound. Security had been breached, and he felt vulnerable for her. She clung to his hand. The body wanted to reaffirm life when threatened with death, but this was different. She was frightened, and he was frightened for her.

“You have any weapons in the house?” His weapons were still in customs waiting for his credentials to clear.

“Not here. They’re in my safe in the office building next door.”

Cade picked up a mallet and a knife from the kitchen knife block. He handed her the knife and picked out one for himself. “Take that and be ready to use it.”

She nodded. “Follow me,” she said. “Stay with me.”

“Right here, Ms. O’Malley.”

The search of the downstairs main floor uncovered nothing, then Cade stopped her from going any further. “Wait. Before we go getting ourselves in trouble, let’s talk to your security crew. Show me your console. I want to check the video coverage, and see if there’s anything on them or if there are any blind spots.”

“All right. It’s right this way.” She took him into a room that could have once been a library but it was now filled with electronics and monitors. She brought up the screens, tapped a few codes into the system, and brought up the video footage for the past twenty-four hours.

“Looks like someone was careless doing the routine security check,” he said after scanning them quickly.

Rowan visibly relaxed and frowned. “I’ll call security and see what’s going on with procedure. They’ll need to talk to you later.”

“Good and I called Jason from the airport. He’s on his way and will bring in a few specialists with him. We’ll hire others as need be.”

“Thank you, and before we landed, I called a friend in Amsterdam to meet us out here, as soon as possible.” She glanced at the clock. “He should be here soon. I have a few questions he may be able to help with.”

“Who is this guy?” Cade asked, wondering if it was
their
Mosel.

“Well, don’t pre-judge. He has a shady past, but I don’t think he’s what he seems. I’ve done him a few favors, and he’s done a few for me. With his contacts all over the world, he may be able to give me a list of the cartels looking for COBRA. Besides, he’s handy in a bar fight.”

“Really? Will we be having many of those?” Cade grinned. She was too cute.

She flipped around to sneer at him. “If we’re lucky.”

“You have a wry sense of humor and a twisted sense of ‘lucky,’ Ms. O’Malley.”

“Don’t call me that. It turns me on.”

“I know.” Cade chuckled as she glared at him. “Okay, Rowan, what does this guy who’s an asset in a bar fight look like anyway? And what’s his name?”

“Ivan Reinhardt. Last time I saw him he had blond, short-cropped hair. He’s Nordic looking, about 6’7” and muscular. Very stoic, almost Russian attitude.”

“Handsome?”

“Interested…?”

Cade threw his head back and laughed aloud. Quick witted woman. He loved it.

She narrowed her eyes on him and furrowed her brow. “His twin brother was an arms dealer. After he was killed, Ivan took that over and added it to his drug business.”

“Nice friends you’ve cultivated.” Cade wondered who was he to judge. Then he worried over how he would warn Mosel/Ivan not to acknowledge knowing him. “I’ll provide the description to the guards, Jason, and the team so they’ll be civil should we start a bar fight in the near future. D’you want to get back to real work?”

“Aye.” She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I’ve a few business dealings to take care of.”

The old brogue slipped in occasionally Cade noticed. He loved the sing-song nature of the Irish, but since Rowan spent as much time in London and outside the UK these days, much of the accent was barely identifiable.

“Can I join you as soon as I’m finished here?”

“No!”

Of course, he didn’t expect she would let him in her office while she ran the system checks, but there was no harm testing her resolve. He cocked an eyebrow at her anyway wanting to push her just a little. “I’m supposed to be guarding you and that program, and I don’t know anything about it.”

“You know enough.” She stood a little straighter. “No one else is involved with COBRA. No one else will ever be. You can guard me and the program, Cade, but don’t expect me to share anything about COBRA until I have personally, fully vetted you and your damn company.”

“No need to be hateful.” Apparently, multiple bouts of naked, intimacy, and sex didn’t correlate as vetting in her book. Good. It wasn’t in his book, either. “I’d tell you whatever if I could.”

“Right, coming from Mr. Redacted-in-all-Systems doesn’t mean much at this point.

“We’ll come to terms with that as soon as you sign-up with IATO. Then you can become Ms. Redacted-in-all-Systems.”

Her wall cracked with that and she laughed. “Now you’re just being silly,” she said, shaking her head as if she was reprimanding a child. “Walk me to my office.”

“Sure.

On the way to the elevator, she was still smiling but looked uneasy.

“Call me when Ivan gets here, please.” Rowan stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.

“Fine, while you work, I’ll wait here for your stoic Russian with an attitude.”

“Thanks. Ivan isn’t all bad.”

Yes, Ivan was all bad.
But Mosel wasn’t.

Luckily, she decided to run her program and do a search for a few names she’d compiled before Mosel arrived. That would take her mind off the scare and he’d have time to go over the security.

Now what Cade needed was a drink. Fortunately, he knew exactly where the kitchen was. Snatching a beer from the fridge, he chugged it down with a few swallows, then paced, waiting for Reinhardt to show up.

Going from window to window, peering out between the shades, he noted how quiet the area was. Rowan’s compound bordered the edge of the city of Eindhoven where The Technical University focused on high tech startups. Her specialty.

Typical European weather, the rain hadn’t stopped coming down since they’d landed. His eyes zeroed in on something out of place outside the window next to Rowan’s upstairs office, but he was interrupted by the sound from the security monitor.

“Your guest has arrived.”

Cade went to the door ready to greet Mosel. Better yet, he threw on a rain slicker hanging by the door and went down the driveway to meet him. Cade hoped Rowan worked through at least the first few minutes of Mosel’s arrival.

Reinhardt stopped the Humvee and got out when he saw Cade.

“Reinhardt.” Cade held out his hand.

“James?” Mosel held out his hand for Cade to shake.

“Nice to meet you,” Cade set the tone.

“Uhm, nice to meet you, too?” Mosel followed. “Now let’s get out of this damn rain.” Attitude. Some things never changed.

They walked slowly toward the front door, and Cade said, “Before she finds out we know each other, I have a few things to fill you in on.”

“We’re not supposed to know each other. Got it.” Mosel didn’t know what was going on, but his eyes shifted back and forth, glancing around. “Where is Rowan?”

“In her office.”

“If you have something to say, do it fast.” He glanced at the upstairs window behind Cade. “She’s watching.”

“I’m trying to acquire her program for IATO, and keep her safe. She has too many questions.”

Mosel snorted. “She always does. I’ll divert her.”

Cade nodded and Rowan burst through the front door. “Ivan! Thanks for coming.” She dragged him inside and after the formal introductions were made, Rowan got right to the point. “I need a list of buyers for my program.”

“I’d like a list of bounty hunters,” Cade said while being ignored. “And local men I can trust to keep Rowan safe until we round up the rest. My brother, Jason is on his way.”

“I’m in,” Mosel said. “And what about Groot, Rowan?”

“Groot is working on another project, but he can watch the office.”

“Who is this Groot?” Cade asked. This was the first he’d heard of him.

“My assistant. He runs my offices here.” Rowan looked defensive and tired. Cade wasn’t going to push her.

After he told Reinhardt about the security breach, the big guy put on a jacket, his earpiece, and a hat, then went out in the rain to check the perimeter. A few minutes later, there was click over the air, and for a minute he disappeared off the vid feed, then he popped up and signaled he’d found something.

Cade heard him say, “A print by the office window and another by the back door. I’m following the direction of the last print.”

Cade was relieved something had been found. This waiting game was growing tiresome.

Shaking the rain from his head, Reinhardt returned five minutes later. “Nothing else. Didn’t pick up any other signs anywhere. I’m going to get my stuff out of the car.”

Cade nodded, and sent Jason a text message regarding what they’d found.

Jason called back almost immediately. “Anything else?”

“
Nada
.” Cade related about the print Reinhardt found in the dirt outside the office window, and about the unsecured back door. “Can’t build a case on this.”

Mosel returned and dropped an equipment bag and a duffle by the front door and Rowan said something about his regular room. Cade’s stomach did a slow dive. Mosel had a room and luggage. Cade didn’t even have a toothbrush or underwear. Then he remembered what she said and almost smiled. She promised to buy him the toothbrush and said he wouldn’t need the underwear. So far she’d been right. It kept slowing things down.

“Cade are you there? I said, right nothing to build a case on but…” Jason’s voice brought Cade back to the situation. “Could be terrorist activity or jumpy nerves.”

Cade agreed, and then he repeated what his brother said to Reinhardt and Rowan. The big man shook his head and Rowan shrugged. “Reinhardt doesn’t believe it’s jumpy nerves.”

“Hmm…the problem is if it is a print, it’s not yours. Right? So be extra cautious until I get there with a few of our guys.”

“You have an ETA? I’d like an idea when you are getting here.”

“2100 hours,” Jason said. “You may as well take turns standing guard and throw in a few trip wires and snares around the perimeter while you can.”

“Done. Reinhardt looks like he came prepared by the look of his equipment bag.” Cade clicked off and shouted over to Mosel, “What do you have in there for perimeter defense?”

“Enough.” Mosel opened the bag and began unpacking right in the entry. Cade joined him and Rowan looked over his shoulder.

“You told him you needed supplies?” he asked Rowan.

“Certainly. I have equipment in the house, but you can never have too much. It’s not as if you can travel commercial with these sorts of things.”

Cade stood speechless while she pulled a Beretta from the bag, loaded it, checked the slide action, and popped it in her waistband like a pro.

She was a pro. He kept forgetting.

Her phone rang. “It’s Groot.” She asked a few questions, spoke to him for a few more minutes, and hung up.

“I have a few system checks I want to run at the business office.” When the computer pinged, she accessed it then it requested another password. Cautious. Rowan grabbed a stack of papers and excused herself, announcing she had work to do. “I’m going to the secured office to check the central processing unit.”

“Where is that in reference to this location?” Cade asked.

“Here, you can log on here and find me wherever I am.” Turning back to the computer, she ran a system scan then waited for the results. The blank screen took a while to pull up the options. “Here’s a vid link to all the halls, here are all the office interiors,” she said, tapping buttons and going through the system with Cade, “and here are all the perimeter cams. I’m going…here.” She pinpointed where he could find her with her finger.

The location was down a back corridor, then through a lobby area that opened to the exterior. The compound was closed for the night so no one would be coming or going unless they passed through security. Okay, he felt better flipping through all the cameras, knowing she wasn’t out of sight.

“Hey, I can’t get a vid feed on this location.” He tapped the room where she intended to go on the desk map.

“No, you can’t. That’s my private office.”

“You’re going to disappear into some office where I can’t see or protect you?”

“Yes. It’s secure.” She pulled out her gun. “And so am I.” Tilting her head in Mosel’s direction she said, “Tell him, Reinhardt.”