Once away, he breathed a sigh of relief. The Norton twins. Who would have ever guessed they’d come out unscathed in a confrontation with them? He was very lucky to get his men out unharmed. He knew Jack Norton was thinking the same about tangling with him. He let his breath out slowly wishing they were finished for the night. But they weren’t.
“I’m picking up Dahlia. Will meet you all at the target.”
Nicolas was thankful to be alone in the car for a few minutes. The responsibility of protecting his men was no small thing. He took it seriously, and he’d known it might all go to hell. They had one day to search the house, and that wasn’t nearly enough time to canvass the place and find a time to break in when no one was at home. They’d been lucky coming out unscathed when the notorious Norton twins had been in residence. He couldn’t blame Gator. No one alive that he knew could handle Jack Norton and come out on top. The only reason Gator wasn’t dead was because Jack was a patient, steady man and didn’t make mistakes. He was sizing up the situation, feeling his way before making a kill. They’d been lucky. Very lucky.
Dahlia ran lightly across the lawn, dressed in a black jumpsuit, her hair pulled tightly into a thick, intricate braid. She tossed the small bag filled with the new clothes into the backseat and slid into the car beside him. “How’d it go?”
“They’re clean,” he answered.
She took a long look at him. “Is everyone okay?”
“Yes, but we don’t have a lot of time with this, Dahlia, we want you out of there before it gets too light, or before anyone has a chance to figure out where we’re hitting next. You’ll have to get in and out quickly. We want Maxwell to fly us out of here before anyone has a chance to come looking for us.”
“Is he at the airfield?”
“Kaden’s making peace with him, bringing him food and filling him in so he’ll be cooperative. The plane will be ready when we get there. The others are setting up to protect you if necessary.”
“It won’t be.”
“This isn’t the same as a recovery, Dahlia. You’re interrogating her while we search the house. We don’t want her to know we’re there. She could panic and try to phone the police.”
“She won’t.” There was confidence in Dahlia’s voice.
Nicolas felt the tension ease out of his muscles at her tone. He hadn’t realized how worried he’d been about her. She’d been so broken earlier, but she looked rested and relaxed and completely poised.
Dahlia studied his face. “You look tired, Nicolas. You haven’t had any sleep.”
“I’ll sleep on the plane. Our intel wasn’t all it could have been. It was a little dicey, but we got out of there intact. Have you ever heard Calhoun talk about a man named Jack Norton?”
His voice as always was easygoing, soft, almost sensual, but she knew him now on a much deeper level and she felt a sudden chill down her spine. “Jesse mentioned someone named Jack packed him out of a firefight once when he was wounded. He never mentioned a last name.”
“Did he mention a twin?”
She nodded. “A brother, yes. I don’t remember his name.”
“Ken. Ken Norton.”
“Why? Who are they?”
“Hopefully not the enemy. Jack’s the kind of man you never want after you. He never stops. He just keeps coming. He was there, in the house.”
Dahlia frowned. “This is getting so messy. All because a group of professors had an idea.”
“An idea that could change the balance of firepower on the sea,” he reminded.
“It’s an idea. An unproven idea,” she said. “Money is just so ugly.”
“It makes people ugly,” he qualified.
“Would this Jack sell out for money?”
“Not in a million years. If he’s looking for the same person or persons we’re looking for, I’d have to say, they may as well shoot themselves now because they’re already dead. He didn’t know what happened to Jesse. Neither did Neil. No one’s talking yet, so that’s a good thing. We know he’s safe enough while we’re figuring this all out.” He parked the car in front of a modest home in a nice neighborhood. The porch and swing looked inviting. The car was a midsized Toyota Camry. “Nothing extravagant.”
Dahlia started to open the car door, but he caught her hand, preventing movement. “You’re wired, right? Did you test it already?”
She rolled her eyes. “We tested it twice. Ian is recording everything and you’ll be able to hear.”
“Be careful.” He didn’t know if it was the near fight with Jack Norton, but he was reluctant to let her out of his sight.
Dahlia leaned into him, pressed her lips against the corner of his mouth. “I do this all the time, Nicolas. Stop worrying.”
She slipped from the car and ran across the lawn. He saw her get out of the car, knew the direction she was running, knew what she was wearing, but she seemed to fade into the landscape. It was the strangest thing. It wasn’t as if she could blur her clothing. Nicolas rubbed his eyes and looked again. He heard her soft laughter in his ear. “Put your glasses on.”
“You’re doing more than blurring your face.” He loved the sound of her laughter. His insides performed a strange melting that left him unreasonably happy.
“Well, a girl should be somewhat mysterious. Wouldn’t want your life to be boring.”
He strained to catch a glimpse of her. Brush moved along the far flower bed. He saw her spring from a low fence onto the steeply slanted roof and run along the edge as if she had some kind of suction cups on her feet. His heart in his throat, he directed his men to surround the house and follow her in while she engaged the occupant in conversation.
“Stop worrying,” Dahlia whispered. She could feel his energy no matter how much he tried to spare her. Nicolas wasn’t the type of man to happily send his woman off on a mission he considered dangerous. And that was just one more thing separating them. She needed the stimulation and the continual physical and mental activity her job provided for her. She had no idea how she’d cope without the outlet.
She ran lightly along the roof, her slight weight allowing her to be very silent as she approached the entry point she’d chosen. A window was slightly open, raised a couple of inches invitingly. The screen was of little consequence. Hanging upside down, she extracted it easily and placed it carefully on the roof where it couldn’t slide off.