She kissed him and he kissed her back, using all the in sights that Elizabeth had shared with him. Aggressive, invasive. Ginger appeared to like it. Maybe too much.
He set her away. “We have business to at tend to,” he said in an icy growl that made her eyes widen in surprise. He didn’t analyze her reaction in an at tempt to prevent any out ward response him self.
She inclined her head and studied him. “You’re right. We’ve kept him waiting too long already.”
With that ominous announcement she pivoted on her heel, the weapon on her shoulder banging against her hip, and strode to ward the freight elevator.
Joe followed. From the intelligence the Agency had gathered there was at least one more scum bag working with this woman. Her known accomplice was male, twenty-seven or -eight, and seriously scruffy-looking. But then, he watched the woman pull down the over head gate that served as a door and set the lift into motion, that didn’t surprise him after meeting the enigmatic Ginger in person. She looked about as unsavory as they came. The third man was the unknown factor, but Joe imagined that he would be every bit as sleazy.
Maddox’s taste had definitely altered. Of course a field operative couldn’t always be selective when working under cover. How ever, Maddox had, so far as they had determined, continued his alliance with these three well after the mission ended. If Joe’s conclusions were correct, Maddox had used at least two of this group to orchestrate the hits on his fellow agents. The question was, for whom? The why was about money. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that part.
Too bad for Maddox. A guy couldn’t take his hefty bank ac count to hell with him.
The up ward crawl came to an abrupt, jarring halt on the third floor and his guide shoved the door up and out of the way. The third level appeared to be nothing but a wide-open vacant space. What could be an additional storage room or office stood at the far end and was separated from the larger space by a single door.
She glanced over her shoulder. “Stay here.”
Joe snagged her by the elbow and wheeled her around to face him. “This sounds a lot like in subordination, baby,” he offered, his tone at once sensual and accusing.
Again her eyes widened in something like surprise, kindling his instincts once more and sending him to a higher state of alert.
“Just following orders,” she said with a shrug before pulling free of his hold and heading to ward the door on the other side of the space.
Joe’s instincts were humming. Some thing was off here. A glitch he couldn’t quite name. But he understood that the under cur rents he felt were tension filled. The surprise he’d seen in Ginger’s eyes. Had she recognized something a little off with her former lover?
There was always the possibility that she and her accomplice had heard that Maddox was dead but Joe doubted that. The info had been kept within Director Calder’s realm alone.
Intelligence indicated that the group had been putting out feelers as to Maddox’s location.
There was every reason to believe that the two leaders of this little group, Ginger and her male counter part, Fahey, had orchestrated the three assassinations thus far. What ever their motivation, the two wanted to hook up with their source, David Maddox, once more. There was nothing on the third party.
Maybe it was the physical relationship between Ginger and Maddox or maybe it was simply a matter of needing the rest of the names.
Joe would be the first one to admit that he’d been surprised by Maddox’s duplicity. It wasn’t that he hadn’t suspected the guy was fully capable of that kind of betrayal. He’d simply believed him to be devoted to his work and his country, if not the people in his personal life, specifically Elizabeth Cameron.
Maybe that sticking point had been the catalyst for Joe’s determination to prove that Maddox had betrayed not only Elizabeth but his country.
Al most immediately after he’d started his own investigation, one week after the first assassination, intelligence had started to pick up on activity from this group. Joe had known what that indicated.
That’s when Joe had gone to Calder with his suspicions. He’d by passed his immediate supervisor, Director Allen, and laid all his suspicions on the table for the big dog.
Allen wasn’t too damned happy about it. But it had gotten things rolling. Once Calder was hooked, Allen had jumped in with both feet.
Joe hadn’t really cared whether Allen got on board or not. All he’d needed was Calder’s blessing.
He’d gotten that.
He moved to attention when the door opened and Ginger sauntered back into the main room where he waited.
A figure appeared in the door way behind her and it took a full five seconds for Joe’s brain to assimilate what his eyes saw. Maddox.
He should have known, Joe thought grimly.
Faking his own death would be the perfect way to get off the hook when he had what he needed.
“It’s like looking in a mirror,” Maddox said as he came closer.
“Yeah,” Ginger agreed.