Shattered Valor (16 page)

Kit read them, then looked at Rocco. “It’s not uncommon for students to copy sections of the Qur’an as they study it.”

“Right. But in these first few pages, in each of these notebooks, the quotes are copied verbatim. Six quotes, each receiving four pages of repetition. And then there’s this. Pages of the same quotes written differently. Some words are left out. Some words are switched with different words. Sometimes the quote is given the same meaning but written completely differently. It’s that way in all of these journals. It’s a pattern.”

Kit looked through the different journals. “What do you make of it?”

“I think it’s how they’re communicating. We know Amir used Twitter to send messages to Fiona’s dad when he wanted to meet with him. I searched Twitter’s archives for these quotes or derivatives of them.” He looked at Kit. “I found that the day before Mandy was kidnapped, Amir posted one of the original quotes, and within an hour, eleven people had posted variations of it. All of them have been deleted, by the way. Of course, they still exist in Twitter’s archives, which is where I found them.”

“We caught twelve terrorists the day after Mandy’s center was bombed.”

“Yeah. I’m not imagining this. Amir’s using it to communicate with his cell or with other cells.”

“Give the Twitter accounts from those tweets to Max. He’ll find out if those eleven accounts belong to any of the guys we caught. Keep an eye on Amir’s tweets. See if he posts another message like those.”

“I can’t. He closed his account after the explosion. We haven’t found him again. Max set up a bot to watch for these quotes if they appear anywhere on the internet.”

* * *

Eden stood with her back to the hot stream of water in her shower. Already her muscles were tightening up from the workout with Max and Angel, and the shooting practice with Val. All three of the guys had been deadly serious about teaching the three of them the things they needed to keep themselves safe.

It made her situation a little more real. And it brought home how lucky she was that Ty had come along when he did.

She shut off the water, suddenly in a hurry to find him. She dressed in her standard jeans, tee, and boots, then went downstairs. If he wasn’t in the den, she’d phone him.

The door to the den was open. Ty was sitting at an enormous mahogany desk. She knocked on the doorjamb. It took him a moment to look up from his laptop. When he did, she could tell his mind was still with whatever he was working on.

“Got a second?” she asked.

“Yep.” He stood up and shut the laptop, then moved around in front of the desk. Leaning against it, he crossed his arms and waited for her to speak.

Eden suddenly felt very much out of her element. It was hard to believe they’d been intimate just the day before. He seemed so distant now.

“Good workout?” he asked, cutting into the dense silence.

“Brutal. I have a lot to learn.”

“What can I do for you, Eden?”

She walked a few steps into the room, striving to find her reserve of calm. Perhaps what happened yesterday was a total fluke. Maybe he wasn’t into her at all. God, she couldn’t read him.

She shoved her hands into her back pockets. “I wanted to say that I’m sorry.”

He frowned. “For what?”

“For being angry with you yesterday.” His frown deepened as he considered her. Maybe she shouldn’t have interrupted him.

“You have a legitimate gripe. We’ve taken over your life.”

“No, you didn’t. The WKB has. You guys are just protecting me. I get that now.” She looked around the room, her gaze snagging on some of the paintings on the walls and the empty places were art used to hang. “I called my boss this morning.”

“How’d that go?”

She flashed a look at him. “She said she was proud of me. Said she considered all of the trainers she had working for her to be her students and that she was happy I’d moved into such a great position.”

Ty smiled. “She should be proud of you. Eden, are you afraid of me?”

“No.”

“Then why are you standing halfway across the room?”

“I don’t want to bother you. I don’t mean to stay long. I see you’re busy.”

“Come here,” he ordered her.

She met his look. Briefly, she considered telling him to come to her. She didn’t take orders very well. But she did as he requested. This time. She stopped a few feet from him. He reached for her hands, then drew her forward to stand between his legs.

He smoothed a bit of her hair from her face. “Do you remember why I wanted you to come out this weekend?”

“No. You never actually said why.”

He cupped the back of her head and pulled her close, bending to kiss her. Oh. God. He wrapped himself around her, held her against his body as his mouth worked hers. After a bit, he eased back and looked down at her. “Does that jog your memory?”

“Did Owen send you to get me?”

“Not until we were already on our way back. Kit got Amir’s call while we were en route. Does it matter?”

“It matters. We sort of work together, now. This is really not a good idea.”

“It’s the best idea I’ve ever had.”

“It’ll get weird if it doesn’t work out.”

“It could. Why don’t we give it a try and see what happens?” He studied her eyes for a long minute, then sighed. “Eden, we do work together, and you live in my house. I need you to know that you can say no. I don’t want you to feel cornered. Ever.” He tucked her hair behind her ear. “I am going to pursue you, but when you’re ready to be intimate again, you have to come to me.”

“Can we take it slowly?”

He gave her a lopsided grin. “I like slow.”

“Okay.” She straightened and moved back a step. It was hard to think clearly when he was so close. “So, what are my duties?”

He arched a brow even as he fought a grin. “Duties?”

She gave him a dark look. “For Owen. What am I expected to do for my job?”

“A lot of waiting, unfortunately. As Kit mentioned, we’re anticipating more drug shipments, but we don’t know when they’ll happen. When they do, we’ll need you to help us find the candy. Between searches,” he shrugged, “do what you want. Mandy’s starting to take on the horses she’ll need for her riding center. I bet she could use a hand working with them.”

Eden was one of the last to come down for dinner that night. Owen sat at the head of the table, as he had at breakfast. Ty had saved a seat for her. She put her napkin in her lap and waited as the dishes were passed around the table. Roasted chicken with gravy, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, fresh rolls, and a big bowl of salad. She was starving. It had been a busy day, starting with her run with Tank and Rocco, then that crazy workout with Max and Angel that left her barely able to lift her arms. She’d helped Mandy with the new horses she’d brought on to train for her equestrian center.

She sent a quick look at Fiona, who sat between Ty and Kelan, and then down at Mandy, who sat on the other side of Val with Rocco and Zavi. She hoped they were as beat as she was. They weren’t talking very much, and she noticed Rocco was serving Mandy.

“So, how was your first day with us?” Val asked her.

Eden looked at him. He was endowed with more good looks than any man had a right to. Rich butterscotch hair flowed in waves back from his temples. His brows were thick slashes over eyes the color of the Caribbean. He had a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee. His face was warm and open, full of humor. He looked like a man who genuinely enjoyed life.

Eden sipped her ice tea, ending her intense perusal of him. “I hurt in places I didn’t know could hurt. I’m exhausted. And starving.” She looked down the way to Angel and Max. “You guys are phenomenal trainers. If you ever want to get out of the,” she hesitated, then used the euphemism that Ty favored, “
fishing
business, you could always open a health retreat here.”

Ty coughed. Val agreed with her. “That idea has merit. It’d be one way to get women to come to Wyoming.”

“You can’t be having a hard time finding women, Val,” Eden commented.

“The problem’s not finding women.” He sent a dark look up the table toward Owen. “It’s having the time to find them. We’re kept on a short leash.”

“Oh. I see. Well, maybe when you’re finished fishing you can go hunting. For women.”

Val’s eyes narrowed. “You’re on his side?”

“Whose side?”

“Owen’s.”

Eden shook her head, though she couldn’t help smiling at Val. “Oh, no. He’s on his own with you.”

Eden took a bite of the roasted chicken as conversation picked up around her. Greer asked Mandy how the new horses were doing. Fee told Rocco that Zavi was teaching her Spanish. The familial atmosphere at the table surprised her. She’d never experienced that with her own family. Her parents had kept different schedules when she was a kid, so she’d rarely eaten with them both together. After their divorce, she’d been a guest at the dinner table with their various new families. More an afterthought than a daughter. Trudy and Sherri had had big families. Sunday dinners at their houses were fun, chaotic affairs. Their tables had always been open to her, and she’d joined them often.

She felt a disorienting jolt of homesickness, which was quickly followed by anger. It was foolish to miss something she’d never really had.

After supper, she retreated to her room. She was edgy and restless. She changed into her cutoff sweat shorts and a loose tee. Usually her comfort clothes settled her nerves. But not tonight. She tried to read the vampire romance she’d started a few days earlier, but couldn’t focus on the words. She flipped the TV on, but ended up just scrolling through the channels.

After a couple of hours, when the house settled down, she took Tank downstairs for his last outing of the day. She used the back staircase by the kitchen, hoping she wouldn’t run into anyone who might still be lingering in the game room or the living room.

She went through the kitchen to the back patio and waited while Tank sniffed around. Folding her arms in front of her, she leaned against a support post. The day had been in the high nineties, but the night was cool again.

A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She was relieved to see it was just Ty coming out of the gym building.

“Hi,” he said as he stopped near her. He was barefoot and shirtless, wearing only his jeans. His hair was wet. She wondered if he’d been swimming.

“I hope I’m not breaking some rule being out here alone.”

“You’re not.” He nodded over to a small camera on another nearby post. “Max has eyes on you.” He looked at her as if considering his words carefully. “Eden, all of the hallways, the entrances to the house, the passageways to the bunker, and the areas around the house are monitored. Just FYI.”

She nodded. “Good to know.”

He sent a look out into the dark grounds beyond the patio. “What are you doing up this late?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” Tank came up and stood facing her, waiting to go to bed.

“What do you usually do when you can’t sleep?”

“I read.”

He took hold of her hand and led her into the kitchen. “C’mon. I’ll tuck you in. Want some warm milk?”

Eden couldn’t keep the disgust from her face. “No.”

He laughed. “Something else then? Hot tea? Hot toddy?”

She shook her head. “I’m fine, but if you want one, I’ll wait while you make it.”

“Nope. I’m good.” They took the back stairs up to Eden’s room. Ty walked over to the bed and lifted one side of the covers. “Do you need a glass of water?”

Eden smiled. She felt like a five-year-old being tucked into bed. It was surprisingly comforting. “No.”

Ty looked around for her book, but didn’t see it. “Where’s your book?”

“On my tablet.”

“Ah.” He sat on the edge of her bed. “Do you want to read to me?”

“It’s a romance. I don’t think you’d like it.”

“You read romances?” he gave her a lecherous grin.

“What does that mean?”

He shrugged. His grin became a smile. “Nothing.” He moved back against the headboard and crossed his feet. “Start it over at the beginning, okay?”

“You promise not to make fun of the story? If you do, it’ll ruin it.”

He made an “x” over his heart. “Cross my heart.” But he still grinned.

“Don’t interrupt me.”

“I won’t. If you like, I could read it to you.”

Eden did like that idea. She navigated to the book on her tablet, resetting it to the beginning. “You read it.” She turned off her light, then rolled to her side so that she could watch him while he read. The bluish light from the tablet was bright in the dark room. It lit his face, making his features glow in the dark room. “It’s a vampire love story,” she told him, looking forward to hearing the story in his deep voice.

“Oh.” His face grew serious. He handed her back the tablet. “No, I can’t read that.”

“Why not?”

“Because vampires are real, and I don’t like to think about them.”

Eden laughed. “They’re not real. It’s just a story.”