Chapter 5

CHAPTER

FIVE

Heidi's stomach grumbled, offering a temporary distraction from her otherwise heavy thoughts.

While Stephen grabbed a chair and tightened the kitchen light until illumination filled the space, she quickly picked up the bag of groceries she'd purchased and salvaged what she could. As she sorted through the pasta and veggies still in the paper bag, Stephen screwed in another loose lightbulb. Then he grabbed the wayward oranges and placed them on the table. He got some paper towels and began to clean up the milk and eggs on the floor.

"Do you like chicken alfredo?" She held up a package of chicken.

He placed a finger over his lips, reminding her to keep her voice low. "Yes, I do."

"You think Beau can hear us talking?" she whispered loudly.

"I wouldn't put anything past him." Stephen stepped farther into the kitchen. "What can I help with?"

"You can make the salad while I start the noodles."

"I can handle that."

She knew exactly what Stephen could handle—and it was a lot.

She didn't know much about the men who worked for Blackstone. She knew they'd been part of some type of special operations for the military. Their missions may have even been off-the-books.

From what she understood, Rafferty had been their leader. When he'd left his station with the military, he'd taken his guys with him.

He'd started Blackstone, his own security firm. His company had taken on tough jobs—private jobs—often for high-profile clients.

Her duties included arranging transportation and housing for these assignments. She handled the details while Rafferty made the decisions.

As the water began to boil, Heidi poured some penne noodles into the bubbling liquid. While they cooked, she would heat up the alfredo sauce.

On some occasions, she might try to make the sauce herself. But not today. There was so much the two of them needed to talk about. Yet the moment felt surprisingly casual.

Either way, she was stuck with Stephen for the foreseeable future.

She pulled out the raw chicken and began to slice it. "So what are you trying to find out? I need more information here."

He grabbed a container of prewashed romaine lettuce from the fridge and set it on a wooden cutting board. "I need to track down Rafferty, and you're the only one who can help me do that."

"What makes you think I can help you?" They'd been over this already. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't know where he is."

"Even if you don't know where he is, you most likely have information that could lead us to his whereabouts." He began chopping the lettuce into small pieces.

"I don't know why you think I have that information. I coordinate assignments. I hook you guys up with the equipment you need. With accommodations. Transportation. But Rafferty is only my boss."

"Do you send him a paycheck?"

She added some olive oil to her frying pan. "No, he pays himself directly."

"Do you have a record of the payroll transactions?"

"I don't do the bookkeeping," she said. "Rafferty takes care of that himself, and I simply process the direct deposits on payday."

He placed the lettuce into a wooden bowl that Heidi pulled out. "You don't need to check to make sure he has money in any accounts?"

"No, Rafferty assured me that there would always be money. I just need approval for anything over five thousand dollars."

Stephen's jaw twitched as he grabbed a tomato from a wire basket on the counter. "Then maybe we can somehow pinpoint his location based on your correspondence."

She added the chicken to the pan and listened to it sizzle. "You can try, but I think we both know that's not going to work. He has all the proper precautions in place."

Stephen frowned as he turned on the water and rinsed the tomato. "That's not what I want to hear."

"See?" As the chicken continued to sizzle in the pan, she glanced up at him. "I told you I wouldn't be much help. I'm sorry you've gone through all this trouble for nothing."

Yet the other part of her wasn't sorry. She didn't need any more complications in her life. She liked to keep things simple. One way she could do that was by not entertaining this conversation any longer than necessary.

This job had seemed like a godsend when she'd been hired. The position had allowed her to work mostly from home so she could take care of her mom. A few times a week, she would go to an office located in a standalone building outside Atlanta. That was where she would meet the teams before they went out on their assignments. She would give them a rundown, hand them supplies, and wish them well.

Rafferty had simply given Heidi the assignments and trusted her to handle the details.

But if Heidi were honest with herself, she'd admit she'd wondered over the past several months if there wasn't more going on in this organization than met the eye.

Had she helped empower Rafferty's men to do terrible things?

She prayed that wasn't the case.

Stephen watched Heidi's face as they sat across the dining room table from each other.

She wasn't naive. He knew that. But she also didn't have a great poker face. When she considered lying, her lips turned down in a frown for a split second. When she was nervous, she rubbed her chest.

For those reasons, he thought Heidi really was telling the truth.

She didn't know where Rafferty lived. Everything she'd told him about the way Rafferty did business had rung true.

The man had covered all his bases.

She sprinkled some grated parmesan onto her pasta and then handed the bowl to Stephen. "I don't understand what's going on. You obviously don't trust Rafferty. But you're making this situation seem like life or death."

"It is life or death." He lifted a spoon full of cheese over his plate. "My friends and I had devices implanted near our hearts, without our knowledge or permission. Rafferty controlled the devices and used them to stop our hearts—to try and kill us."

Heidi gasped as his words hit her. "That can't be possible."

He locked gazes with her. "Not only is it possible, but it also really happened. One man is still on life-support in the hospital. He's been there for the past ten days."

She rubbed her neck. "That's terrible. I've always known Rafferty was former military and that the team under him did some sketchy assignments. But I never imagined it was anything like that."

Stephen tilted his head. "All these assignments we've done, and you never thought that someone could get hurt in the process?"

Her cheeks reddened as she gripped her fork, about to stab her pasta. "Maybe sometimes I just want to ignore things. Convince myself that the ends justify the means. I don't know enough details to make any judgments. Besides, I feel like it isn't my business."

He could respect that. In this line of work, boundaries were essential.

"Rafferty is a dangerous man," Stephen continued, determined to drive home his point. "We don't know what he's planning next. However, we are certain he's up to no good. That's why we have to bring him down."

"Who is we ?"

"Some other men who were in his program but defected along with me."

Compassion flooded her gaze. "I wish I could help you. I really do. But I think you've come to the wrong person. I have no idea how to locate Rafferty."

"When was the last time you spoke?"

Before she could respond, Heidi's phone rang on the table beside her.

She glanced at it, and her face went pale.

Her gaze darted to meet Stephen's. "Speak of the devil . . . it's Rafferty. He's calling me right now."

Stephen sucked in a breath before muttering, "Perfect. Answer and put it on speaker. Let's hear what he has to say."