Ball & Chain (Cut & Run 8)

“This thing is password protected,” Kelly finally said. “I can’t get into it.”

Ty nodded. “We’ll take it to Zane, see if he can get past it.”

Kelly came over to help Ty go through the suitcases. “He brought an awful lot of stuff for a week.”

Ty nodded, frowning at the three large suitcases full of clothing, shoes, toiletries, and electronics. “It’s almost like he wasn’t planning on going back home,” he said. He and Kelly shared a glance.

Kelly pulled out a Dopp kit and unzipped it. It was brimming with toiletries and medicine bottles. “Why would this all be packed up? He had six more days, why not take it into the bathroom, lay everything out?”

Ty’s frown deepened. He turned to the large wardrobe. It was empty. No suits hanging, nothing folded into the drawers. All of Milton’s things were neatly packed. “He either never unpacked, or he was planning on leaving last night.”

Kelly was scowling when Ty met his eyes. “This guy’s starting to feel shady, man.”

Ty grunted in agreement. “We need to get into that laptop. Gather it up, we’ll take it with us.”

“What about his phone? Did he have it on him?”

“Yeah, but it got wet. It’s useless.”

Kelly shrugged. “Let’s go put it in some rice.”

“Rice?”

“Yeah, it soaks up the water.” Kelly bundled up the laptop and stuck it under his arm. “I dropped mine in the toilet once. A little rice, a little Clorox. Good as new!”

Ty swiped a hand over his face as they left the room. “That is so gross.”

Zane approached the table where Burns and Earl were sitting, drinking coffee and playing some sort of card game. He could feel Nick behind him. He was a very physical presence, and Zane now completely understood why Ty had always trusted the man to have his back.

“Earl. Director Burns,” Zane said with a nod at each man.

“Hey, Zane, Nick. Take a load off,” Earl invited with a jerk of his head to the empty chairs at the table. “We heard there was another murder.”

“Yes, sir,” Nick said softly. “I’m afraid we didn’t come to play cards. Director Burns, we’d like to speak with you about a few things.”

Zane glanced at him, surprised he’d gone the direct route. His jaw was tight and his green eyes were hard and sparkling. Zane groaned internally. Ty had been right. Zane was going to have to pry Nick’s fingers from Burns’s neck, he knew he was.

Burns and Earl exchanged frowns, then Burns placed his cards on the table and nodded. “What do you need to discuss?”

Nick’s hard stare remained on Burns, but Zane looked between the two older men pointedly. “It has to do with work. It’s probably best we speak in private.”

Burns pursed his lips and stood. “I’ll be back,” he said to Earl. He came around the table, watching Nick with an almost curious expression.

Zane turned to lead them both into one of the unoccupied rooms that lined the great hall. They settled in the parlor. Burns sat in one of the chairs near the large stone fireplace, and Zane and Nick sat opposite him on a small sofa.

“What’s going on, boys?”

“Was Milton one of your men?” Nick asked, his voice hard.

Burns’s only reaction was a rapid series of blinks.

“The watch he wore,” Zane said. “It was just like Ty’s, the one you gave him with the GPS in it.”

“He’s also dead, just like most of your recruits,” Nick practically snarled.

Burns cleared his throat. “This is going to be unproductive with him present. Unless he intends to use his alternative interrogation skills,” he said with a point at Nick. He stood to go.

Nick was on his feet so fast Zane didn’t even have a chance to grab for him. He blocked Burns’s path, and the two men stood eyeing each other, trapped in the space between the chair and the coffee table.

“Son, you don’t want to make a mistake here,” Burns said almost kindly. “You need to get out of the way.”

“I don’t take orders from you. Sir. Sit down.”

Burns narrowed his eyes and jutted his chin out, but he must have seen just as plainly as Zane could that Nick wasn’t going to let him leave this room. He gave a curt nod and returned to the chair by the fireplace.

Nick remained standing, his arms crossed over his chest like a bouncer at a club.

Zane gave him a wary once-over before turning his attention back to Burns. “Was he one of your men?”

Burns cleared his throat and nodded. “He was.”

“Was he planted with the Stanton company?”

“He was already part of the Stanton company,” Burns said. “They’re developing highly classified equipment for the military, we needed a watchdog. We recruited him.”

“Why the hell didn’t you come out and say that when we found his body?” Nick demanded.

“Because Stanton can’t know. I don’t have to tell you what a mess it would be if it got out that a government agent had infiltrated a private company like that. You can imagine how that would make Stanton and his board of directors react if they found out.”

“Did you put him up to introducing Deuce and Livi?” Nick asked.

“What? No, why would I do that?”

Zane rubbed his fingers over one temple. “So, his sole job was to guard this technology being developed?”

“For me, yes.”

“That means whoever killed him probably did it for the information he was protecting,” Nick said to Zane.

“You should have told us this,” Zane said to Burns.

Burns shook his head. “It’s need-to-know, Garrett.”

“That woman’s life, the cook? Her blood is on your hands,” Nick growled. “All your cloak-and-dagger bullshit, all it does is get people killed.”

Burns didn’t answer. He sat staring at Nick, his expression unreadable.

“O’Flaherty,” Zane said gently. “Why don’t you go find Grady and Abbott, see what they found?”

Nick continued to glare at Burns, his nostrils flaring and his jaw jumping as he clenched his teeth. He finally nodded and turned to leave. The door slammed shut behind him.

When Zane returned his attention to Burns, the man was still watching the door. His face had softened, and he seemed almost melancholy. He sighed heavily when he met Zane’s eyes. “I admire his loyalty. And his fire. That was why I tried to recruit him.”