“Sure.” He jogged upstairs to get one from his duffel and came back down with it. Once it was activated he handed it to her and she texted Georgia a message. When no response came she set it down on the wood coffee table and resumed eating her dinner.
The fire was still crackling cheerily away in the hearth and Matt wished like hell they were alone. Oh, the things he’d do to her in front of that fire while the reflection of the flames flickered over her naked body…
“This is interesting,” Zahra called out from the den, causing all of them to look toward the doorway. “Both these companies seem to be fronts. I can’t find anything substantial behind them. No tax returns, no useful information.”
Matt set his plate aside, excited at the prospect of having a solid starting point. “Like shell companies?”
“Could be,” she answered. “And by the looks of it, someone else has been trying to access the account information. Last time was about an hour ago.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’ll keep digging.”
He exchanged a look with Briar, then Rycroft, and he knew they were all thinking the same thing. Those U.S. companies could easily be fronts for someone into shit they didn’t want anyone tracing.
Like illegal arms deals.
A moment later, the burner phone on the coffee table chimed with an incoming text. Briar picked it up and read the message, her expression tightening, shoulders turning rigid. Before he could ask what was wrong, she pushed out a breath and shook her head. “Frank’s dead.”
Cold settled into Matt’s gut. “Her handler?”
She nodded, put the phone to her ear as she dialed Georgia. “She found him two hours ago dead at his house outside of Cheyenne.” A few moments passed before she lowered the phone. “Just goes straight to voicemail.”
Rycroft grabbed it from her, hurried into the den and handed it to Zahra. “See if you can trace this number.”
Seeming totally unflustered at having her work interrupted, she opened up a new program and typed in the number Georgia had given Briar. While they waited, Rycroft made a call of his own to verify. “Frank’s definitely dead,” he confirmed when he hung up, face grim. “More cyanide. An anonymous caller reported it a couple hours ago, I’m betting Georgia. Time of death estimated at around eight hours ago. Same M.O. and near enough to Denver that it could be the same killer who took out Janaia. I’ll update Celida, see if she’s heard anything.”
“Just another minute,” Zahra murmured, almost to herself as she worked her magic. “Here. Looks like Georgia’s text came from the Wyoming-Colorado border.”
Not far from Cheyenne. Briar was worried about her.
Rycroft glanced at her. “Any idea where she’s going?”
“No. I’ll ask but I doubt she’ll tell me.” She took the phone back and texted another message. The reply came back a moment later. Briar shook her head and read it aloud. “Sorry. Going off grid. Will contact you at this number when it’s safe. Watch your six. They’re getting closer.”
Matt didn’t blame her for not divulging her location or plans, and he didn’t want her knowing where he and Briar were either. He hoped like hell the encryption on the burner phone was good, and that Georgia wasn’t as talented with electronics as Zahra. Even if they were in New York State, she could still potentially leak their location and help someone else find them.
Rycroft straightened from the desk, his mouth a flat line. “This is way the fuck out of control.” He ran a hand through his hair, sighed and shook his head. “Much as I want to call some contacts and bring them in on this, we’re gonna have to do the legwork ourselves for now. With Celida’s help,” he added.
Frustration and anger built inside Matt. Someone with power in the intelligence world was out there playing cat and mouse, ordering hits on government operatives, and they’d locked his or her crosshairs directly on Briar.
His jaw flexed. No one was fucking touching her while he was still alive. She stood beside Zahra looking at the laptop, appearing totally calm, but he knew this latest news had shaken her no matter how well she hid it.
He closed the distance between them and curled an arm around her back to draw her to his chest, glad that she didn’t shove him away. Better yet, she rested her head against him and exhaled, relaxing into his hold. Rycroft was watching them but didn’t say anything and Matt didn’t give a shit what he thought about them being together. All he cared about was helping Briar, making sure he was there for her to lean on, protecting and shielding her as best he could.