Game of Fear (Montgomery Justice #3)(9)

She grabbed her bag from the car and trudged up the three flights of stairs. She should admit the truth, she wanted more than friendly flirting from Gabe. She got the physical attraction. That dark hair and those chocolate eyes made most of the women who came into Sammy’s drool. That didn’t touch Deb, though. What tempted her was that something extra she’d witnessed. Like how he made certain anyone who’d tied one on had a ride home. Or the times she’d caught him giving food out the back to someone in need. Or the easy camaraderie he shared with his brothers when they stopped in.

In her experience, more often than not the best-looking men were also the biggest jerks. Gabe seemed to be the exception. Which in itself scared the hell out of her.

Finally reaching the landing, Deb slipped her key into the lock. Ashley better have a good reason for being here and not at her Air Force Academy dorm where she belonged.

Deb shoved the door open. Her sister jumped up from the beige corduroy couch like a gun had exploded in her ear. The textbook vaulted from her hand landing five feet away.

“Easy, girl. It’s just me.”

“Thank God.” Ashley shoved her blonde hair behind one ear, her movements edgy.

This wasn’t like her sister. Deb hurried over to the sofa and tossed her rucksack into a corner. “What’s going on? And please tell me you didn’t take a bus from Colorado Springs.”

“Of course not. I . . . just . . . I really needed to talk to you so I borrowed an upperclassman’s car. He’s flunking math. I traded tutoring time for the use of his ride for a few hours. I promised to get the car back before curfew. It’s such a pain that first-year cadets can’t have their own vehicles.” Ashley relaxed a little. “Where were you?”

Okay, mentioning her celebratory foray to the bar wasn’t happening. “Rescue flight. A church bus full of teenagers hit black ice going around a curve. Medevac choppers were called in from all over to find them, but it gets dark so early, we didn’t have much daylight to look.”

“You found them.”

“Yeah,” Deb sighed. “Finally.”

“No, I mean you’re the one who found them, aren’t you?”

Deb shifted on the sofa. “It was a team effort.”

Ashley crossed her arms in front of her and glared at Deb with that all-knowing teenage look.

“Okay, yeah, I spotted the bus first, and then everyone kicked into gear. We airlifted the worst of the wounded out to the ambulances standing by, and the ground troops had to take over due to the lack of light and rugged terrain.”

“I don’t know why you don’t just take the credit. I bet you loved flying that mission,” Ashley said.

“Okay, quit it.” Deb threw a pillow at her sister’s head. “Come on, Ashley, why are you here?”

Ashley snagged the pillow in midair, then hugged it close. “Something really weird’s been going on. Someone’s following me. Plus, I keep getting these strange phone calls and hang ups. I swear someone else is on the phone, listening, while I talk to my friends.”

“While you’re on the phone?”

Ashley frowned. “I hear these strange clicks and stuff. Sometimes there’s an echo. Really faint, but enough to make me suspicious. God, listen to me. I sound as paranoid as Dad. Maybe it’s the NSA skulking around again. Or the military. I realize that I’m attending the Air Force Academy, but would the school tap its students’ phones like that?”

“Anything’s possible, I guess. If the General had his way, he’d have bugged every room and phone line we ever went near.” Deb tried to make light of the situation, but her stomach fluttered a bit at Ashley’s words.

“Yeah, well, Dad’s a psychotic, overprotective idiot. How they let him stay in the Army this long, I don’t know. He’s scary.”

Deb laughed. “And that’s exactly why they’ve kept him around so long. His paranoia has paid off too many times. Everyone hates him, but nobody bucks him . . . except you. You pissed him off royally by picking the Air Force.”

“Big deal. So I didn’t hold up the Lansing tradition of going into the Army, like you, Ben, and Rick. All following in Daddy’s footsteps, like good little children.”

“Brat. Respect your elders.” Deb crossed her legs and faced her sister. “Besides, I’m a civilian now.”

“Yeah, I know, and it’s all my fault you’re not out there flying those helicopters every day. I can’t believe I need someone to act as my legal guardian here while I go to the Academy.”

“Yeah, being a sixteen-and-a-half-year-old genius is tough. Imagine being tapped by the government for your code-breaking skills. You poor, deprived child.”

“It was either that or go to jail after I hacked into the NSA to give them a taste of their own medicine.”

“Don’t remind me. I had the FBI at my door. And not for a security clearance interview.” Deb sat up straight and stared down her sister. “You and your new buddies aren’t screwing around with that stuff anymore, are you?”

“Would I do that?” Ashley batted her eyes, but Deb just shook her head in dismay. “Seriously, I’m legit. The only thing we’re doing is hacking our way through Point of Entry, a video game that gives bored little brainiacs like us a legal way to hone our skills.”