Angel: A Linear Tactical Romantic Suspense Standalone Page 12

  Maybe he needed to find his passion and do the same.

  What did he want?

  Gabe walked back inside, his attention drawn again to that sticky note on the fridge.

  $622,000.

  Jordan obviously knew what she wanted and the exact amount she needed. She just didn’t know how to get the money.

  He, on the other hand, could have that sort of money at almost any time, but didn’t know what he wanted to do with it.

  The battery from his laptop was dead, so he grabbed the computer he’d lent Jordan. Once he answered a few emails, he would be free to spend time with her when she got home in a couple hours.

  When he woke up the screen, it showed what Jordan had been working on last. Not surfing the web or browsing social media like he’d expected. It was open to Java, a pretty complex computer coding language. If someone wasn’t familiar with it, the words on the screen would look like gibberish.

  Jordan was obviously familiar. She’d been coding. Interesting. Maybe this was part of her $622,000 plan. Maybe she wanted to have her own business.

  He’d only planned to glance at it, since he was definitely familiar with Java and coding, but once he started, he couldn’t tear his eyes away. This was high-level work. What she was working on was nothing short of brilliant from a cybersecurity perspective.

  And dangerous.

  She was working on robotic process automation. A way, in essence, to fool a computerized machine inside a corporation into learning what Jordan wanted it to learn, in addition to what it was programed to do.

  On the one hand, it could be a fantastic way to increase the functionality of basic robotic devices within a business. A computerized coffee maker could be connected to a company’s network to not only make coffee at a certain time, but also to turn on lights, control temperature, lock or unlock computerized doors.

  Or, as proven with this coding, provide someone outside access into a closed system.

  Depending on what type of access she was going for, Jordan was either working on something brilliant or highly nefarious.

  Realizing the sun was beginning to set, he closed the laptop. He needed to give Jordan a chance to explain her work. Maybe she didn’t even realize the ramifications of what she was doing.

  The sound of a soft thump hitting the front door drew his attention. He shut the computer down and heard another similar sound on the side of the house. What the hell?

  It was only when he heard the noise again and then saw something dark splatter against the kitchen window that Gabe realized what was going on.

  Someone was throwing shit against Jordan’s house.

  Gabe was out the front door in just a matter of seconds. The three males—teenagers with slingshots in their hands at the tree line of Jordan’s property—obviously hadn’t expected anyone, especially Gabe, to be inside.

  They immediately turned and ran into the woods.

  “Oh, hell no,” Gabe muttered and took off in pursuit.

  They had a big lead and were more familiar with these woods, not to mention Gabe wasn’t one hundred percent healed yet since taking that hit a few days ago, but there was no way he was letting them get away with this.

  The oncoming darkness played to his strengths, as did the cold. The boys were weighed down with their bulky winter jackets while he ignored the cold and moved much more easily.

  When he’d gone through hell week to finish his SEAL training, he never thought he would use the deadly skills Uncle Sam had taught him to track down some teenagers in the woods. But that was exactly what he was doing.

  They were a half mile into the woods when the boys got smart. They must’ve realized they weren’t going to be able to outrun Gabe, so they slowed down, trying to outwit him.

  A good plan in theory.

  He slowed his speed but continued to track them on silent feet. Just because he’d been in the navy rather than the Army Green Berets like the Linear guys didn’t mean Gabe wasn’t just as deadly in the wilderness.

  He heard some sort of animal-type call and realized the boys had split up and were signaling each other. Gabe moved in the direction of the call.

  As he proceeded through the trees, it wasn’t long until he spotted two of the guys.

  They obviously thought that they had lost him or that he’d gone after their other friend—or maybe they were just damn lazy—because they were no longer doing a very effective job of hiding their tracks or moderating their breathing. Gabe remained silent as he moved around behind them. He needed to get these two incapacitated so he could go after the third kid. He wanted to make sure he had the undivided attention of all three while they “talked.”

  The two boys were keeping an eye out for him in the other direction when he stepped out from behind a large tree.

  “Looking for me?” he whispered.

  The bigger of the two guys squawked in surprise. The smaller one took a swing at Gabe. Gabe blocked the punch without any effort whatsoever, then stepped to the side as the bigger guy found his courage and decided to help his buddy out.

  Neither of them got in a hit. Gabe kept himself on his best behavior, not doing any damage to them either. Although when he thought of what these kids’ actions would do to Jordan, reinforcing the town’s rejection, he was tempted to give them both a couple of cracked ribs.

  Instead, he used the bigger guy’s forward momentum when he rushed Gabe for a second attempt, stepping out of the way and giving him a push as he went by. He flew to the ground. A moment later, he grabbed the smaller guy and threw him into his friend.

  Before either kid could get their bearings, Gabe had ripped their shoes off and was taking the laces out.

  “What are you doing, man?” The smaller kid asked. He tried to scoot away, but Gabe grabbed his shoulder and threw him back onto the ground.

  Once he had the laces out, he began tying the boys’ hands behind their backs.

  “What the hell?”

  Gabe ignored the bigger one and made sure the bindings were good and tight. It would hurt like a bitch in this cold, but Gabe didn’t give a shit.

  “You two stay put while I go find your friend. Then we’re gonna have a nice chat.”

  Finding idiot number three wasn’t terribly difficult either. Instead of making a beeline for wherever they had parked, he’d decided to circle back around and try to help his friends.

  Gabe could almost respect the loyalty if it wasn’t for the fact that these were three cowards attacking a lone woman’s house.

  This one was smarter, quieter, listening for Gabe rather than assuming he had the advantage. Gabe didn’t try to get behind him like he had the others. This time when he saw his prey, he pursued. The kid’s eyes got big when he spotted Gabe, then he turned and ran.

  The kid was fast and surefooted, but Gabe was relentless in his pursuit. A couple of minutes and a flying tackle later, and the kid was on the ground.

  “You can come with me so we can have a talk with your friends, or I can rough you up a little bit and then we can go have a talk with your friends. They’re waiting.”

  The kid wisely started walking. They reached the other two, who were still cursing and trying to get themselves untied, when Gabe looked around, eyes narrowed.

  There was someone else out here. And that person wasn’t friendly.

  Chapter 18

  “Who else came with you?” Gabe asked, allowing the menace he was feeling to leak into his voice.

  All three of them shook their heads, but it was the big one who spoke. “It’s just us three. We were just messing around, man. Chad told us the bitch had gone to work.”

  Gabe’s fist clenched at the slur, but he ignored it for now to focus on the danger at hand. All three of the kids looked like they were about to piss their pants—they were telling the truth.

  He looked around again. Every instinct was telling him someone else was out there. Someone dangerous. Those instincts had kept him alive in enemy territory more than once.

&n
bsp; He ripped off the third kid’s shoes and tied him the way he had the other two. Now all three of them were crying and moaning.

  He narrowed his eyes and pointed at them.

  “Shut the fuck up.” His voice was barely more than a whisper. “Someone is out there, and if that person isn’t with you or with me, then that’s a damn problem. Be quiet so I can find out where he is. Because if something happens to me, you three dumb asses are going to freeze out here.”

  They shut up.

  Gabe disappeared into the woods, trying to get a better feel for what he was sensing. Whatever it was, whoever it was, wasn’t a teenager up to some mischief.

  Gabe could almost feel crosshairs on him. And he did not like being prey.

  He made a wide circle around the kids. There wasn’t much he could do about a sniper who was willing to take a shot in cold blood.

  Although he’d never been his team’s best distance shooter, Gabe had spent time staring down a scope at a target. He had even taken a life that way. In a way, the distance had made the kill easier.

  That did not make him feel better right now.

  Twenty minutes later, by the time he’d moved around to the east side of the kids, the feeling of being watched—being stalked—had passed. He understood why a few seconds later.

  Dorian Lindstrom stepped out from behind a group of trees, far enough from Gabe to not be taken as a threat, a half-unconscious man over his shoulder. He dumped the guy onto the ground with little finesse.

  “Jesus Christ, Dorian. You spooked me, man. Was that you who had me in your sights?”

  “No. This guy did.”

  Gabe walked closer and realized it was Allan Godlewski moaning on the ground. Dorian had obviously beaten the shit out of him. Gabe wasn’t going to lose any sleep over Godlewski taking a beating, but it looked like his nose was broken, and half his face was swelling. Dorian obviously hadn’t held back.

  “He attack you?” Gabe asked him.

  The big man shook his head. “No, I didn’t do this. He was like this when I found him.”

  What the actual fuck? “Well, it wasn’t me. I was running those punk kids to ground. So who did it?”

  “Dorian crouched down next to Allan. “The person I’ve been tracking. The same one I mentioned last week.”

  Gabe took a step closer. “Is that who had me in his sights?”

  “No. Godlewski had you in his sights.”

  “How do you know it was him and not your ghost?”

  “Because if you’d been in that person’s sights, and they’d wanted the shot, you’d be dead already. Godlewski had a rifle next to him, and I think he intended to use it. That’s why the wraith stepped in.”

  Wraith? That was a ghost, right? “Are you sure your…wraith is any safer than Godlewski? I’m beginning to have concerns “about this guy roaming free around Jordan’s house.”

  Dorian grabbed Allan by the arm and threw him back over his shoulder in a fireman carry. “I’ve got to get him to a hospital. Jordan is safe. The ghost is dangerous but isn’t after her. Or you.”

  “Is he after you, Dorian?”

  “Yes and no.”

  He let out a sigh. “Don’t talk in riddles, man. Is he hunting you or not?”

  Dorian turned away. “Yes, I’m being hunted. But not by a him. Wraith is a she, not a he.”

  He faded into the darkness without another word.

  Jesus.

  Gabe let him go. He no longer had that dead-man-walking itch at the back of his neck. He had no idea why anyone, man or woman, would be running around Wyoming’s wilderness in the middle of winter. But if that person had just stopped Godlewski from going open season on Gabe, Gabe would assume that person wasn’t an enemy.

  He would have to leave Dorian to his mystery lady of the woods. Gabe had his own problems to deal with. He made his way back to the three punks he’d left tied up.

  Untying their hands and allowing them to put their shoes back on, Gabe marched the kids back to Jordan’s house, promising them that they’d regret it if he had to chase after them again. Since he’d taken their driver’s licenses—or maybe they understood that he really was going to be pissed if he had to go after them a second time—they came quietly. Adam DiMuzio, Jeff McKeever, and Caleb Higgs. All between eighteen and nineteen years old.

  Barely more than stupid kids. But old enough to know better.

  When he made them clean off the shit they’d thrown at Jordan’s house with their bare hands and paper towels, they weren’t quite so amicable.

  “Jesus, man,” Adam said as he cleaned the front door. “What’s your problem? Do you even know who Jordan Reiss is, what she did?”

  Gabe crossed his arms over his chest. “I know she fell asleep behind the wheel and there was a terrible accident. I know that Zac Mackay, the man who lost his wife and child and has the most right to be mad, is not here like some immature douche shooting bags of shit at Jordan’s house. As a matter fact, Zac Mackay was here last week helping me replace windows that got broken. Which were, interestingly, broken by rocks thrown with a slingshot. A criminal offense, since someone could’ve gotten seriously hurt by the rocks or glass.”

  The color leached out of Adam’s face, and he began to clean harder. The other boys worked silently.

  “Do you know what her dad did?” he finally asked. “My family nearly lost our business because of the money he stole. My mom had a stroke, and we could hardly afford hospital care for her.”

  Studying Adam now, Gabe realized there was a hurt, scared kid inside him. He’d watched his parents go through some pretty rough stuff. And while that might incline Gabe toward a bit of leniency for the young man, it didn’t change the fact that this shit—literally—with Jordan had to stop.

  He stepped up to Adam and placed a hand on his shoulder. “How’s your mom now?”

  The boy shrugged. “She’s fine, got back to normal. She’s strong.”

  “And your family still owns New Brothers Pizza, right? Looks like it’s doing well.”

  Adam shrugged again. “I guess. No thanks to her.” He inclined his head toward Jordan’s house.

  “You want to get back at the person who stole from your family? Then you go find Michael Reiss’s house and throw shit at it. Jordan had nothing to do with what her father did. She was barely sixteen when that went down. Younger than you are now. Do you know everything your father does?”

  Adam shrugged. “No, but my father doesn’t steal from other people.”

  “I know, and I’m glad. Michael Reiss is a bastard who should be rotting in prison for what he stole. Not Jordan.”

  “I know that.”

  “Then why do you think it’s okay to punish Jordan like this?” Gabe gestured to the house. “All you’re doing here is terrorizing a woman who lives on her own, someone who is trying to get her life back together after being dealt a pretty crappy hand. You got a sister, kid?”

  Gabe could tell he was getting through to Adam.. “Yeah, two. One younger and one older.”

  “Would you want someone doing something like this to them? Breaking their windows in the middle of winter? Leaving something like this for them to find when they got home after working a long day? Worse?”

  Adam shook his head. “No. Look man, I didn’t have anything to do with that fire. That’s taking it way too far.”

  “I know. We found out the people who set the fire weren’t after Jordan.”

  “I’m glad. I was afraid it was Allan.”

  “Allan put you up to this?”

  Adam shrugged again. “He’s just always the one who knows when Jordan isn’t here.” Adam stared at the door for a long minute before turning back to Gabe. “But no, he’s never really had to put us up to it. We’ve always been more than willing to jump on the bandwagon.”

  The kid looked a little embarrassed. Maybe there was hope for him after all. Gabe gave him a curt nod.

  “Get your friends and get out of here. And Adam, don’t come back. Jorda
n may not be willing to fight, but I’m willing to fight for her. And so is Zac Mackay and the rest of the Linear guys. You make sure everyone knows that.”

  Adam nodded, then turned to run down the steps.

  “DiMuzio.”

  The kid turned and looked at him from the yard.

  “Don’t come back here just because of my threat, but because you’re better than this. You’re more than someone who would act this way toward a lone woman. Your family is too. You would want someone to look out for your sisters if you couldn’t do it. I’ve got a sister here now too. I want to believe that the DiMuzios in this town—everybody in Oak Creek—is better than this.”

  The Adam that answered was more of a man and less of a boy. “We are.”

  Gabe nodded and watched the boy and his friends take off into the night. They wouldn’t be back. Gabe was still smiling as he walked in the door and saw Jordan’s laptop on the kitchen table where he’d left it.

  That coding. He hoped he hadn’t just protested Jordan’s innocence when she might have devious plans of her own for Oak Creek.

  Chapter 19

  Washing dishes and busing tables at a café in Reddington City wasn’t Jordan’s idea of forward progress career-wise, but the owner had paid her fairly and said she could come back anytime. Jordan suspected Betty Mae might have been in prison herself at some point because the older woman didn’t bat an eyelash when Jordan mentioned her own incarceration.

  The work was hard, made more difficult by the thick rubber gloves she’d worn over her hands to protect the parts that were still healing, but Jordan had never minded hard work. She would be back the next day and as many days afterward as possible until Fancy Pants reopened. It felt good to have someone give her the benefit of the doubt for a change.

  She forced herself not to think about Gabriel as she worked. He had a lot of crazy stuff going on in his life and might not even be at her house when she got home, even though he said he would be. But her pulse sped up at the sight of his car still parked at her house as she drove up a little bit after dark. The exhaustion from being on her feet for the past ten hours fled as she barreled up her front steps. She stepped in the front door and found him sitting at the kitchen table.