hissed out at the careful movement. “The stolen information is still missing, Ellery’s in the wind and looking for payback.” Finally upright, he leaned against
the wall at our backs. “If his former bosses know anything about him, all they need to do, is sit back and wait for him to surface.”
I bent my legs until I could rest my arms on my knees. “It wouldn’t take much to connect the dots, not with the bloody trail he’s leaving.” Smears of rust
decorated my fingers.
Kayden went to nod but stopped. “Right, that information is worth a lot of money. Ellery won’t hold on to it long. Eventually, he’s going to set up a sale.
Which, according to Delacourt, may be happening sooner than we think.” When
I looked at him, he grimaced. “Her source confirmed there were rumors the information will be up for auction in the next couple of days.”
“How reliable is this source?” It was a legit question since regular
monitoring of unsavory activities rarely panned out.
“Very. The source has been deep undercover for the last two years.”
Holy shit, that poor soul. Twenty-four months of living and breathing in the darkest underbellies would leave a hell of a mark. “That doesn’t give us much time.”
“Nope, but a local name came up. She wants us to check it out.” He began the laborious process of getting to his feet.
I watched him, prepared to catch him if he went down. “Want a hand there,
hotshot?” He grunted, and taking that as an affirmative, I got up and added my
support to his efforts. Getting him vertical didn’t take long, but when we were done, pain pinched his face. “Or maybe some aspirin?”
“Couldn’t hurt.” He leaned against the counter, head bowed.
I grabbed the white tablets from the medicine cabinet, filled the small glass
on the counter, and handed him both. “Stay here till I secure the bedroom.”
I managed a grand total of three steps before he reached out and stopped me.
He opened his mouth, most likely to spout something silly, but I held my hand
up, palm out. “Don’t, it’ll take me a few minutes, and you’re in no shape, so just
stay here.”
He let me go.
Smart man.
Five minutes later, the condo was once again hidden behind heavy curtains and Kayden was sprawled out on the sofa.
In the kitchen, I dumped the OJ down the sink and tossed the container in the
recycle bin. “Who are we checking out this time?”
“Joaquin Hobbes, CEO of NSpirit.”
I turned on the faucet and rinsed the sink. “NSpirit? Sounds familiar.”
“A synthetic biology company headquartered in Chicago. They hold a few
contracts with the Department of Defense.”
I turned the water off, and then leaned my hip against the counter. “And Hobbes just happens to be in Phoenix?”
“Not only does NSpirit have a building here in the Valley, but it seems Hobbes keeps a summer home just north of Scottsdale, and he’s in residence.”
“Hmmm.” Coincidence be damned, it couldn’t be that easy.
Giving myself time to think, I grabbed a glass, filled it with water, and then
walked over to collapse in the plush chair next to the couch. Stretching out my
legs, I slid down until the toes of my boots almost touched the coffee table leg,
and the back of my head rested against the chair’s pillow top. I took a sip of my
water, then cradled the glass against my stomach. “And Delacourt wants us to go to his home?”
“Nope, she put a team on his house. We get to go to dinner.”
