Page 79 of The Hacker
“Dawn, I’m really sorry to ask this of you,” Tully said. “The DEA wants you to go to the gym as usual. They’re setting up the operation to capture Rodriguez and her honchos today, and they don’t want anything out of the ordinary to spook them into running. I told them I wanted to send some of my people into the gym with you but they’re against it.” He shook his head. “I’m not running this show so I can’t butt in.”
“Yes, but I can.” Leland’s hands were balled into fists. “There is no way in hell that Dawn will walk into that gym today.”
“I hear you, partner, but the authorities have the chance to take down a major drug cartel’s top leaders. It will be a huge victory. So they’re being very careful.” He shrugged. “Honestly, if I were in their shoes, I’d probably do the same.”
“They can’t force Dawn to go into work today,” Leland said, his tone hard as steel.
She laid her hand on his rigid arm. “Hey, it’s okay. I want to help them catch this Griselda and her nasties. What could happen at the gym? There are people around all the time.” Chad gave her the creeps, but she couldn’t picture him bashing her over the head in the weight room.
“What if Chad jams a gun in your side and forces you to go with him to the basement?” Leland’s voice was tight with disapproval.
“I’d scream before I got anywhere near the basement. He wouldn’t shoot me in front of witnesses.”
“I’ll put a wire on you,” Tully said from the laptop. “If you scream, the cavalry will charge through the doors. In fact, I’ll give you a code word so screaming won’t be necessary.”
Leland was shaking his head. “I don’t like this.”
“I have a lot of training in self-defense,” Dawn pointed out. Much as she loved Leland for his protectiveness, she could do this. Last night she’d been shaken up by Chad’s sudden appearance. Today she was braced and almost eager to face him again—the asshole. “I’m ready.”
“I applaud your courage, ma’am,” Tully said. They set up a rendezvous away from both the gym and Dawn’s apartment where Tully could install the wire on her. “My people say there’s no one but us watching your building, but I’d advise you to leave separately anyway. I’ll meet you at our agreed location in fifteen.” His image disappeared.
Leland drew in a deep breath before he turned to take her hands. “You don’t have to do this. In fact, it would be a hell of a lot easier on me if you didn’t.”
“Now that’s hitting me where it hurts.” She slid off her stool to stand between his knees. “I love that you want to keep me safe. However, if I can help take down not just an arms dealer but a major drug dealer, that seems worth a small amount of risk.” She tried to beam reassurance into his troubled mind. “Not to be immodest, but I’m really good at protecting myself.”
She decided not to remind him how well her training had served Alice when she was being held at gunpoint. That reference wouldn’t ease Leland’s anxiety.
“Darlin’, I know how strong you are but I just found you. If I lose you, who will I wake up when I can’t sleep?” His gaze locked with hers and something in his eyes made her heart do strange twisty things.
“That’s the best motivation for staying safe you could give me.” She poured her feelings into a kiss that left them both panting.
“We’d better go.” She’d somehow ended up wedged between Leland’s thighs and crushed against his chest. “Tully’s on his way.”
He held her tighter. “I could refuse to let you go.”
“Don’t make me hurt you.” She smiled against his shoulder.
He released her with obvious reluctance. “You go out the front. I’ll use the back exit a few minutes later.” He kissed her again. “Make sure you yell the code word if Chad even blinks funny.”
Chapter 18
Dawn tugged down the zipper of her lightweight trainer’s jacket another inch in an effort to let in some air. After Leland had taped the wire to her chest early that morning, they’d realized that her gym shirt was so snug that the tiny device would be outlined by the stretchy fabric. So she’d been forced to add another layer, which made her sweat in the heated gym.
“You’re ready for ten-pound weights for your biceps curls,” Dawn told her client as she pulled the dumbbells off the rack. She’d reached her fourth training session for the day without any guns being pointed at her, so she could focus most of her attention on her job.
“Are you sure I can manage these?” The woman accepted the weights with a dubious look.
“Watch your upper arms in the mirror when you curl.” She turned her client sideways to her reflection. “See that nice bulge? You’ve worked hard to build that strength.”
When she’d arrived at the gym, Gina, the daytime receptionist, had told her that Ramón had a stomach flu and was taking the day off. Dawn had uttered a mental prayer that he wasn’t secretly in the basement packing up guns for Griselda.
Vicky always did paperwork on Tuesdays, so she was holed up in her office.
Chad was the bigger problem because he had clients to train, so he moved around the gym. Every time Dawn saw him, cold fingers of fear walked down her spine. So it seemed smart to head in the opposite direction the moment she spotted him. She’d been avoiding him for weeks anyway.
When her nerves started to jitter, she reminded herself that all she had to do was say the word “Zulu” to bring Leland, Tully, and their reinforcements racing into the gym. The image of Leland sprinting to her rescue across the wood floor in his black undercover outfit evoked equal parts of comfort and heat.
So far no rescue was necessary so she turned her mind to counting reps. As soon as the session was over, she jogged to her locker to check her encrypted phone. She didn’t dare keep the strange-looking cell on the floor, even in her jacket pocket.
