High Note

Excerpt

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Prologue

A few weeks ago… 

It was early when they left. The day had a watery gray kind of brightness to it. Not that the sun wasn’t shining, it just seemed hazy. Maybe fires in the west. The light glinted off the window as they passed, but my proximity to the road didn’t worry me.

The camouflage tucked my vehicle out of sight. I also didn’t rush to follow. Today’s vehicle had a tracker on it. A slap-and-track I’d placed myself. I took the time to finish my notes before putting away the laptop.

Five minutes later, I pulled out, following the red dot on my phone screen. She was too good not to pick up a tail. Spooking her wasn’t the plan. I caught up to “them” at a gas station. Since a top-up wouldn’t hurt me, I parked at the pump farthest away.

Pulling the card from my wallet, I skimmed my gaze over the name. Today I was… “Bruno.” Humming to myself, I got the gas going and leaned back against the car. The angle from the windows of the little convenience store let me track their movements.

The hacker was with her today. I’d already pulled Fletcher Reed’s background and added it to my notes. He seemed to be nursing a hangover—though the way he swayed a little when he walked suggested he might still be drunk.

Poor company.

Worse backup.

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Suppressing the urge to curl my lip, I didn’t linger after my gas tank was full. Leaving the station ahead of them. I parked one block east and one block south.

Then waited.

The gas station was a pit stop. When they started moving again, I fell in behind them at the same distance I’d maintained earlier. Her destination proved to be a storage facility. Curiosity pulled me from my vehicle, but I stayed downwind and out of sight.

Located in an isolated spot, the place just reeked of abandonment and disuse. The grass growing through the cracks in the pavement and blacktop pretty much cemented the local town’s lack of interest in keeping up the maintenance in the area.

The address tickled something in the back of my mind. I’d check it out later. Low-glare binoculars gave a front-row seat as they opened the locker and went inside. It was empty—save for some file boxes. Standard. No guarantee of what they contained.

Tragedy crossed Vienna’s face. The expression arrested me. While I would never label her as guarded, she’d always radiated a self-possessed air. Ethereal. Capable.

Talented.

A sigh half-escaped me, and I had to shake it off when the hacker kissed her.

It wasn’t just a peck on the lips.

No, there was a ferociousness to that kiss that prickled over my skin. A possessiveness that had me curling my fingers into my palm. She allowed it.

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Lucky for him, she returned it with equal fervor.

That move could have gotten him killed.

When they left the locker, they took the boxes and sealed them up. Even as I tracked their movements, I considered the storage facility. Once again, I let her leave ahead of me and just waited. If she turned in the direction of her home, I’d go investigate now. If she didn’t—and it turned out she didn’t—I’d make a point of returning later.

The next drive was nearly as long as the first, only we didn’t go back to her place at all. We went to the port. Aware of exactly who owned the dockside warehouse, I parked a mile back. Any closer would really tip her off.

No one else was here.

The hacker was waiting in the car like a good pup. Amusement flared through me. Had she left the window open for him? Having been here more than a few times, I knew a couple of access points that would let me slip in undetected.

I made it just in time for the show. It was a show. Vienna worked with a kind of elegant efficiency few could ever hope to achieve. Captivated, I almost wished I’d brought a camera that would let me film her. She didn’t play games, tease, or taunt.

She went straight to the questions. While I was too far away to catch all the words audibly, I could read lips. The last year had been very hard on her, not that you could see it in her professionalism. But the barest crack in her voice betrayed an ocean of agony.

It almost made me homicidal, an urge I kept in check. She didn’t need me to take this from her. She had it.

While I soaked up and savored every moment of her work, someone else decided to interrupt. The bastard walked in, clapping. A sigh would have escaped me if I allowed it.

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Rude.

He could have at least waited until she finished. Edging was fine. Taking one’s time was fine. Interrupting her at the cusp of the orgasm in her work?

To… fanboy?

I was a heartbeat away from taking the decision away from both of them when the hacker appeared. He clocked the interloper with a tire iron.

I found myself almost… impressed.

Remained that way until he puked outside. However, the act only diminished my evaluation a little. He obeyed instructions. Like the professional she was, she cleaned the scene and removed the bodies—both the corpse and the prisoner.

What would she do with him?

A tingle shivered up my spine. I really wanted to know.

They took both cars after they were finished, including the removal of all the hard drives. I did a sweep of my own after their absence, confirming nothing remained that could trace back to her.

Speaking of tracing, I checked my tracker on the way back to the car. This late in the day, it didn’t take me long to make up the miles separating us. I honestly didn’t want to miss anything. She’d gone to a dump site, clearly. Well, a dump site for the stranger’s car and Bailey’s body.

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Close enough to hear them this time, I appreciated her thoroughness in cleaning out the car before she put the hacker in the passenger seat and left. They were heading home.

I didn’t follow. Instead, I waited for her cleaner. It didn’t surprise me that Reuben showed up within the hour. He was the most logical choice.

Leaving the shadows, I approached him. His reaction didn’t disappoint.

“Madre de Dios,” he swore before he paled. “Why are you here?” Then he earned some serious points. “If you hurt Lily, you and I will not be friends.” Lily was the pet name he used for Vienna. Cute.

“We’re not friends now,” I reminded him.

He swallowed, but his fist tightened until his knuckles went white. Not backing down, despite the trickle of sweat rolling down his face. Loyalty. I respected it.

“We should talk, Reuben.”

“About?” He didn’t back down, nor did the suspicion in his gaze relax.

I smiled.

This time, Reuben retreated a step and cut his gaze away once before coming back to me. Solid survival instincts. Maybe we could be friends.

Probably not. But it might make him feel better if I let him think there was a chance.

“Let’s start with this job,” I instructed him. “Then we’ll go from there.”

end of excerpt