Cold & Deadly (Cold Justice: Crossfire #1)(41)
“No.”
“Not gonna tell me that story?”
“I doubt it.”
He laughed. At least she was honest.
The doorbell rang again.
Ava blinked, and he stepped back. He wasn’t doing a good job of keeping her at arm’s length but here came the cavalry. Dominic checked the peephole this time.
Lincoln Frazer, head of BAU-4, peered back at him, looking pissed at being kept waiting.
Dominic swung the door open. Lincoln stepped inside to be greeted by the dog who went ballistic sniffing the guy’s pant legs. Lincoln was followed by the heavily pregnant agent who’d accompanied him to the scene of the shooting at Van’s funeral. Agent Mallory Rooney. The senator’s daughter.
He winced because he hated when people did that—labeled him by his father’s achievements rather than his own.
Another man stood behind them, assessing Dominic with quiet gray eyes.
Lincoln eyed his bruised face. “Hurt much?”
Dominic shrugged.
“Thought so.” The man grinned. “So, I guess the big question is, who wants you dead and why?”
Chapter Twelve
“You guys remember Special Agent Ava Kanas?” Dominic asked as he closed the door behind the newcomers.
“How could we forget the Special Agent who is single-handedly saving America,” Lincoln Frazer commented dryly, but his tone was amused rather than critical.
The third man stepped forward and held out his hand. “Alex Parker. Agent Rooney’s husband. I consult for the FBI on cybersecurity matters.”
Ava shook his hand. This was the guy rumored to have worked for the CIA before he was incarcerated in a Moroccan jail. Ava noted they wore matching scars on their brows. She wondered if he’d got his from being pistol whipped after watching his father’s murder. Something in the depths of his eyes suggested worse. Much worse.
He smiled, and she found herself smiling back.
Sheridan led the way to the dining room. Ava followed, walking beside the heavily pregnant agent. Parker played with the dog as he brought up the rear.
“When’s your baby due?” Ava asked.
Rooney shot her a rueful glance. “Three more weeks. I feel like I’ve been pregnant forever.”
“You’re working right up until the birth?”
“To the bitter end, which is why Alex is hovering even more than he usually does,” Rooney said with a smile that suggested she didn’t mind. “I’m actually surprised he hasn’t signed up for a midwifery course just in case something goes wrong.”
“Where do you think I go every Thursday afternoon?” he asked with a straight face.
Rooney gave her husband a quelling look, then nodded toward Frazer. “The boss banned me from traveling for work, but this is within easy driving distance of Quantico. I’d rather do something useful than sit around wondering where my toes went.”
Ava laughed. “Enjoy the freedom while you can.”
“You have kids?”
Dominic glanced sharply over his shoulder.
Ava shook her head. She had no idea how she’d be able to meld a family with a successful FBI career, or unsuccessful one for that matter. Rooney obviously had a supportive husband, but not everyone was a millionaire who could consult for the FBI.
Ava was only twenty-six and, despite her mother’s incessant nagging, wasn’t in any rush to get hitched. She didn’t want to be tied down any more than Sheridan did. “My sister has two kids under two. We talk.”
Rooney blew out a breath that made her bangs dance. “Now that’s bravery.”
Dominic led them to his fancy dining table and invited them all to sit. He went and grabbed his laptop, then sat at the head of the table. He moved stiffly, obviously in pain, but too stoic to admit it. He probably shouldn’t even be out of bed, never mind working a case.
Ava didn’t know what was going on between the two of them. Work, for sure. A vested interest in Van’s death and figuring out what the hell was happening. But something else too. Some undercurrent of attraction they were both pretending didn’t exist.
Seeing Suzanna, the poor besotted neighbor salivating on the doorstep had made Ava take a giant mental step back. But who hadn’t made a mistake when it came to relationships? She was pretty sure every man she’d ever slept with had been a major error in judgment. She pushed the thoughts out of her mind. She needed to concentrate on getting her job back.
“What have you got for us?” Frazer asked intently.
“Agent Kanas and I have determined that a total of seven agents who I worked with in the New York Field Office are now deceased, including Van Stamos and Calvin Mortimer.”
If Sheridan was right about his theory it would be the first time in the history of the FBI where agents had been ruthlessly and systematically targeted. Ava held her breath.
Frazer swore. “Which squad?”
“Violent Crimes.”
“You think someone purposely murdered Mortimer, Stamos, and the other men in that squad because of something that occurred in New York?” Rooney asked.
Sheridan nodded.
“Any cases spring to mind that might have incited this level of vengeance?” asked Frazer.
“It was New York so could have been anything. Mob stuff,”—Ava forced herself not to react—“serial killers, serial rapists, kidnapping, murder, intimidation, witness tampering, bribery, corruption. We had a piece of anything that turned nasty and a lot of people went to prison.” Dominic shrugged and continued. “Some of the deaths might be natural causes—cancer, heart attacks, but I have trouble believing seven men below the age of sixty just happened to die unexpectedly within the last twelve months.”