Disavowed(81)

“How long?”

She sighed. “Could be hours, might take days. I’m working as fast as I can on it—”

“I know you are. Once you have more uncovered, give me the Baltimore details and I’ll head over there with some local agents, or even one of the Titanium guys.”

“I’ll have Alex arrange all that,” she answered. “It also looks like someone else has been running a similar investigation of sorts. Briar’s contacts we were looking into have all been flagged in the system, and there’s been more research into the Caymans thing. Don’t know who’s doing it though. That’s all I have for now, but do you guys need anything else?”

“No, we’re good for now. Thanks,” Briar added.

“Okay, I’ll be in touch. Hang in there.”

“We will.” Briar ended the call and set her left forearm on her upraised knees. Resting her cheek on the back of it, she looked at him. “They can’t formally charge me with just my prints and some hairs and whatever lies those witnesses were paid to say.”

“Sure they can, they’re the CIA.”

She blew out a breath and sat up, rubbing a hand over her face.

Matt smoothed a hand up and down her back. “Won’t matter what evidence they planted once we nail the bastard behind this and get your name cleared.”

Glancing over at him, she smiled. “Yeah.” She slid off the bed. “I’m gonna go make some coffee. Want some?”

“Love some.” And later he intended to take her mind off everything the best way he knew how, get her naked and willing beneath him again. Just remembering the sweet sounds she made when she came were enough to make him hard.

She eyed him from the doorway, letting her gaze wander over his naked body, an appreciative, almost possessive gleam in her eyes that he loved. “You staying here?”

“For now. I’m gonna call Celida, see what’s going on at her end.”

“Okay. I’ll bring you up a cup.”

He got a gorgeous eyeful of her naked ass as she walked away, completely uninhibited about her body. She was all sleek, toned grace, her hips swaying in a mesmerizing rhythm as she exited the room.

Smiling to himself, he dialed Celida and filled her in on what Zahra had told them. “Anything on your end?” he asked.

“Alex just got off the phone with a bank contact in the Caymans. Apparently there’s only one person with signing authority listed on the account. He’s a fifty-three year old local, a laborer with an eighth grade education. The owner of one of the companies Zahra mentioned apparently pays him a salary to issue the checks. I’ve got police dispatched to question him about the owner. If they pay him well enough, he might not talk, which will force us to get an official warrant to get more.”

But the tangle of loose threads was starting to unravel already. Only a matter of time until something materialized from all this. Anticipation curled inside him. “I bet he’ll talk. Briar and I’ll be holing up here, but if I check out that Baltimore operation, I’ll call you.”

He’d just set the phone down on the bed when the scent of brewing coffee reached him. He could go downstairs and save Briar the trip up, but decided against it. Stretching out on his back with his hands tucked beneath his head, he lay naked atop the sheets and waited for her to join him, anticipating what he’d do to her this time.

She’d dropped her guard so much already and each time they had sex she let him in even farther. Matt wanted in so damn deep that she’d never be able to get rid of him. Because once this situation was resolved and the danger over, they would just be starting.

If he had anything to say about it, after they drank their coffee they weren’t leaving this room again for a long while. Things were slowly winding up and the end wasn’t far away now. He had only a short time to convince her that he belonged in her life, and she in his.

She might not realize or believe it yet, but with her, Matt was playing for keeps.





Chapter Twenty-One





Briar checked her e-mail on the laptop Alex had left for them, hoping to see some news from Trinity but there was nothing since their last communication two days ago when they’d talked about Janaia and everything that had happened since. Trin had hinted that she was stateside somewhere, had volunteered to come and be Briar’s backup until this was all over. A touching offer, though Briar wouldn’t disrupt whatever job Trin was pulling right now. Besides, she had Matt.

Three days had come and gone since arriving at the safe house, each with its ups and downs. Zahra and Celida had continued searching for more information on the shell companies dumping money into the Caymans account. They were getting close to the end of the trail and it was frustrating to be trapped here and forced to wait. Briar might like downtime and be a homebody but even she was feeling cagey after being stuck inside this long.