Read Singed for Free Online

she’d be seeing him long before morning. Because without a doubt he’d be right there in her rearview mirror all the way back to her place. And she was more grateful for that than he’d ever know.

 
    Chapter Three
    At seven thirty the next morning Gage pushed open the door of the team’s new office space the NSA had put them in. Hunt was already there, along with the two other Titanium employees they’d worked with over in Pakistan, all seated around a large rectangular table strewn with laptops and papers.
    Blake Ellis looked up to nod at him, a former Marine Scout/Sniper with medium-toned brown skin and hazel eyes. Beside him sat Sean Dunphy, ex Force Recon NCO and resident computer genius. Aside from Claire, Dunphy was the best Gage had seen with IT stuff. His collar-length black hair was already mussed from him shoving his fingers through it. Staring at the laptop screen in front of him, he muttered a quiet curse and typed something with a series of quick keystrokes.
    Gage strode over to take a look at the screen. “Hit a snag already?”
    Dunphy typed something else in and responded without looking up. “Whoever the TTP have as an encrypter, they’re good. I’ve been at this since six and can’t crack the coding yet.”
    “Lucky for us the day’s still young.” He turned his attention to Hunt on the other side of the table, poring over the files spread out before him. “Anything new this morning?”
    “Not yet. Just waiting on the rest of the crew to get here so we can divvy up assignments.”
    Gage helped himself to one of the unopened files before Hunter and read through its contents, re-familiarizing himself with the key players involved with the cell. Most of the names were already familiar so he spent time getting to know the ones that weren’t. The majority of the men suspected to be involved were Pakistani, but there were a few Afghans and one from Yemen as well.
    He glanced up a few minutes later when the door opened. Alex strode in with Jake Evers, the FBI guy. An unfamiliar woman followed behind him, then Claire. Gage straightened, offered a polite smile when she met his gaze then quickly looked away. She was still tense, and this morning she had shadows under her eyes that told him she hadn’t slept for shit last night. Whether it was because of him, the situation with the TTP cell or things with her brother, he didn’t know, but he was willing to bet all three were weighing heavily on her. It drove him nuts that he wasn’t in a position to do anything to alleviate some of that stress for her anymore.
    Alex set his own laptop on the table and tossed his jacket over the back of a chair. “Everyone, this is Zahra Gill.” He indicated the slender woman with long wavy black hair and greenish eyes that had come in behind Evers. “She’ll be helping run diagnostics and working with Dunphy on breaking any encrypted files we find. She’s fluent in Urdu and can handle Pashto as well.”
    Everyone introduced themselves and shook hands, and Gage noticed Dunphy watching the newcomer with interest. Maybe because now he’d have help cracking the encryption and someone to translate the messages exactly—but more likely because he was looking forward to working with a good looking woman instead of one of his male teammates for a change.
    “This morning I received new intelligence about what we’re dealing with,” Alex continued. “Senator Larkin’s got a team with him up in Boston, but from recent chatter we now think the TTP might be setting their sights on a civilian target in another city instead. Possibly Baltimore or DC.”
    At that, Gage’s eyes snapped over to Claire. She was standing beside the closed door, unmoving. Although she didn’t outwardly react to Alex’s words, Gage knew they’d hit home from the way she swallowed. The pulse in her throat throbbed visibly. God dammit, he wanted his gut to be wrong for once.
    “That’s all we know so far,” Evers added, looking a bit